Wondering Thoughts
by Beezer
Summary: COMPLETE! Prelude now added. Its been told how Bruce Wayne became Batman, but what happened while Bruce disappeared for 7 years? How did Jonathan Crane come to be the Scarecrow? Was he ever an idealist in the corrupt town...if so, how did he fall...
1. For The Better

**A/N: I have a habit for creating new characters to fit in this story. This has nothing to do with me. It was just an idea I got while watching the movie…3 times. So try it out, many people seem to enjoy when I create new characters to a movie. (Ex. Serena in _Fast and the Furious _and Tristan in _X-men) _Give this a try an please R&R.**

**CHAPTER ONE – FOR THE BETTER**

Emmeline Pierce sat on the bench awaiting the next tram. It sucked badly to have her brother using her car for his own purposes but she was used to it. Besides, there were days when the tram was easier than the overly populated streets but not on cold nights when she worked until one in the morning. Least not in Gotham City where the bad ruled the town and Falcone owned the streets, that's the way she heard it and that's the way it was. He even owned the bar she worked at and half the other ones in the city so her fear was rational. Anything could happen when criminals knew no fear.

She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her looking around the nearly empty station. There were few people, she could count them all on one hand. But at this time, there should only be that many, which scared her more. Anywhere past midnight in this city freaked her out because anyone could be a potential mugger. It wasn't that she was afraid she'd be hurt, she knew how to fight. When you grew up with three older brothers in a family of four, you knew how to handle yourself and her oldest brother, Russell, was a Jujitsu master, had been for twenty years. So she could protect herself, but it was the idea of it even being tempted that frightened her along with the fear of actually physically hurting someone.

Emmy just kept her head down and her ears open. There was an older woman to her far right on a bench, more than likely homeless by the countless amount of coats she wore that had seen better days and a guy to her left farther away pacing slowly wile waiting for the tram, probably a grave shift worker.

Running her fingers through her hair she let out a sigh and wondered silently when her life would change. She hated working at the Treasure Chest bar where she had to wear outfits two sizes too small and serve drunken middle aged old men all night with a forced smile and take their petty sexist call outs with a fake laugh. She hated the men she ended up dating, every one of them was a sleaze ball, all muscle no brain, more than likely ended up criminals. She wanted a better life, a normal one where she could be happy for a change. It had been a long time since she felt happy.

She tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and tapped her foot restlessly. It wasn't like she had anyone waiting for her at her apartment. She was single. Had been since the day her boyfriend up and disappeared on her with a pretty red head ten months ago, taking some of her jewelry with him including her mother's diamond and ruby ring that was part of the family heirloom and the only thing of value she ever had. Bastard stole it with her other rings and necklaces, but it was that ring that meant the most. She was the only girl in the family and her mother had passed away when she was ten of heart disease. Her father remarried and moved when she was eighteen to California. She was alone in Gotham with only her brother, the other two had moved out of the city.

But she couldn't complain, despite the dream life she wanted she had it better than others. It beat living on the street even if she wasn't happy, she was at least thankful for a roof over her head and money in her pocket. However it didn't stop her from wishing for more in her life, just something extra, whether it be a new job, new place to live, or, hell, maybe even a decent guy. For twenty-three she had seen enough losers to last a lifetime and enough crime to last two lifetimes of jail sentences. It was just part of her circle of life that never changed, which made it more depressing for her to know that she'd go home to her one bedroom apartment to start the same circle over again in the morning.

Emmy rubbed at her eyes and listened for the tram but didn't hear the wailing of the horn. Instead she heard a noise from behind the wall, near the staircase behind her. It was a dead wall, in other words it was for decoration and owner use. The staircase led to the top of the tracks in case of an emergency. It was basically an alley behind the wall. With a frown she followed the noise slowly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear again. She turned the corner and waited, listening with her hand in her pocket on her pocketknife she had hidden. Her brother had bought it for her on her birthday. Most would find it odd, she adored it.

The path was empty, but she heard it again, a groan, weak but audible. She moved to the metal staircase that had a large opening beneath it and looked in the dark area. She saw nothing at first until she scanned her eyes more to the left and saw a foot, a leg. Her eyes widened and she moved closer. A man! Unconscious and visibly hurt.

"Oh my God," she whispered and got to her knees, ducking inside the crawl space.

It was a large area underneath, used for storing boxes but now it stored a body along with the boxes. She moved closer to the guy and felt his neck, there was a pulse. It was weak but it was there and steady. She ducked out of the area and saw the guy was still there waiting for the tram. "HEY!"

The big guy turned towards her with a look of surprise and moved a bit closer as if unsure if she was talking to him even though he was the only guy in that direction. He pointed a finger at his chest and she let out an irritated sigh. "Yes, you. Call an ambulance! This man's hurt!"

The guy moved closer to look and Emmy rolled her eyes at humanity's curiosity to see a fellow being injury. It made her sick.

"Holy shit," the guy whispered as he looked in at where she sat next to the man. "You weren't kiddin'."

"Did you think I was lying?" she snapped and shook her head. "Go call. NOW!"

The guy took off and Emmy went back to the unconscious man. She brushed a strand of his dark hair from his blood-covered face. He was wearing a suit, had to be someone of semi importance. His face was thin and lean, high cheekbones that most girl's would die for and full lips. His body was lean and as she felt for any injuries she could feel muscle, he was toned. She shook her head, crushing on an injured guy would do her no good right now. She found a stab wound on the left side of his torso a few inches away from his navel that was bleeding but not badly. He let out a weak moan as she pressed near his chest, definitely injured ribs, probably broken or cracked. And judging by the blood on his face, he had a concussion. He started coughing violently and blood trickled from his lips. She moved around him and lifted his head into her lap to make it easier for him to breathe and wiped the blood away. She sat there with him, whispering words of encouragement that she hoped he could hear, praying he wouldn't die on her. It was the last thing she needed right now.

From the corner of her eye she saw something on the ground a few feet from her. Trying not to move him much, she grabbed for it. A wallet, black leather and completely drained of any cash it had once contained, definitely his. She opened it up and found his license. Jonathan Crane, psychiatrist. That explained his now ripped suit. Judging by the picture, there was a nice looking guy under the blood and bruises. She tucked it in her pocket so she could give it to the hospital later.

"They on their way," the guy said ducking back in. He didn't come any closer, just crouched at the mouth of the opening and stared.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, hoping it sounded as mean as she felt.

"Nothin', jus' I never seen a dead body before."

"He's not dead," she growled.

"Well, he looks dead," the guy countered.

"And in about two minutes so will you."

"Don't get all feisty on me, sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart."

"Listen, lady, I've hit some women in my life, even did time for it and you're coming pretty damn close to bein' slapped and joining that list and I'm six foot two and two hundred fifty pounds. You're, what, five foot three and a hundred and thirty."

"Twenty," she corrected.

"Big deal. I can take you and you can join your lil friend here. I'll even take a lil more than I need," he started to move towards her, unbuckling his belt.

Emmeline reached into her pocket and flipped open her pocketknife. "You come anywhere near me or him and I swear to God I will watch as your insides come out."

The white guy froze, staring at the knife. "You wouldn't."

"Try me, asshole."

He backed up as he heard the sirens approaching, apparently he wasn't too fond of the police. She didn't need to guess why judging by his bald head and tattoos, he knew what the inside of prison walls looked like. She bet her life he was a rapist. "Maybe next time," the man took off running and Emmeline didn't bother to go after him. She had more pressing issues. Like Jonathan bleeding to death in her lap.

"Hello?" a voice called out from the entrance to the station.

"Over here," she shouted. "Under the staircase behind the wall."

The man moaning caught her attention back. His eyes blinked open and she was startled by the bright blueness of his eyes she forgot to speak. "It's okay…you'll be all right. I got you, Jonathan. You're safe with me."

She wasn't sure if he heard her or not. His eyes rolled back into his head and shut as he lost consciousness once more. She ran her fingers through her hair as the paramedics showed up taking over for her. Emmeline moved back so they could get to him and a middle aged officer moved her aside.

"I'm Detective Gordon," the officer said. "What's your name, miss?"

"Emmeline…Emmeline Pierce."

"Emmeline," he repeated with a smile. "That's a very pretty name. Very unique too."

"Thank you…I guess."

"Ms. Pierce, are you the one who made the phone call?"

"Um…no. This other guy did. I just…I found him," she stumbled with her words as she tried to look at the officer but at Jonathan. She couldn't pull her eyes off him for some reason.

"What time would that have been?" he asked.

"About one o'clock. He could have been there longer though. It didn't happen while I was here. There were only three people waiting besides me."

Gordon rubbed at his mustache. "How did you find him?"

"I heard something while I was waiting and I followed the sound and I looked under there and," she made a gesture with her hand to signal the rest.

"I see. Well hopefully there's enough evidence to find something to indicate who did this to him. And when he wakes up maybe the gentleman can tell us something."

"Jonathan," she corrected him while watching the medics load him onto the gurney.

"What?" Gordon asked with his eyebrows furrowed.

"His name is Jonathan," she told him.

"You know him?"

"Yes," the answer fell from her lips before she could even think of it.

"Oh…I'm sorry about your friend. I didn't know," he said and sounded truly apologetic. She found it sweet that there was one caring cop left in this botched city. "Well then, I think you're done here, Ms. Pierce. Why don't you ride with him to the hospital," he said and put a hand on her back to guide her towards the awaiting ambulance. "If we need anything more of you, we'll give you a call."

She nodded and climbed into the back, sitting near Jonathan. The doors to the ambulance closed and it sped away into the early morning.


	2. Wish Come True

A/N: All right. It's going to be slow for awhile but to answer some reviews. Yes, Emmeline will be dropped more but for now I need to show what she means to the story and for the time, Jonathan is still in the hospital. But it'll be Crane centered soon with Rachel in it and Falcone. Just give me the time because for now its Emmeline's light, but it WILL be Crane centered soon 

CHAPTER TWO – WISH COME TRUE 

Emmy stood near Jonathan's stretcher as they wheeled him inside. She was afraid to leave him and wasn't exactly sure why since she never even met him. She'd only known him for an hour tops and half of it was spent bleeding in her lap wondering how in the hell this had happened to her in the first place.

"You'll have to wait here, ma'am," the doctor said as they rushed him into an emergency room. Emmy could only stand there and wait.

"Don't worry, sugar," a black nurse said touching her arm. "Your husband will be fine. They'll give him the best care."

"He's not my husband," she said and then realized how strange it would look that she was concerned for someone she didn't know. "He's my fiancée."

"Well, he'll be good as new. I'll let you in to see him as soon as they get him settled in a room."

"Thanks. I'd appreciate that." She settled down into a chair and to her surprise, the nurse took a seat next to her.

"Hope you don't mind, my ankles are killing me. I'm not as young as I used to be," she smiled.

"Not at all."

"I'm Betty, by the way, dear," she stuck out a wrinkled hand.

Emmy shook it. "Emmeline Pierce."

"Nice to meet you," the woman's grip was soft from her years of being a gentle nurse. "What's your fiancée's name?"

"Jonathan…," she said it sounded foreign to her to speak it. "Jonathan Crane."

"How long have you two sweethearts been together?"

"Umm…a year."

"How'd you meet?"

She was really starting to hate the lies. "At the station."

"How ironic? You meet him at the station the same place you save him."

She nodded. "Yeah." That was the second time she spoke without thinking. Great, she just kept digging that hole.

Betty touched her shoulder getting her attention. "I know the truth, dear."

Emmy's eyes widened. "You do?"

The lady nodded with a soft smile.

"How?"

"I'm not stupid, child. I know you never met this boy in your life. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I won't tell nobody. Your secret is safe."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Call me, Betty, please. But don't take this as a burden that you're making it. You saved this young man's life. He'll treasure that…just as he may treasure you." Betty stood up then and walked away leaving Emmy there to think of her lies and the lady's words.

At least she got what she asked for. She sure didn't wake up this morning picturing spending the night in the hospital after saving a mugged guy from the station. All she imagined was going to work and serving drinks and getting the usual harassment from men, maybe even getting a call back on her from one of her hundreds of job applications at the local district. Six years of schooling just didn't cut it nowadays, not in Gotham. If you couldn't be corrupted in the end you couldn't be hired. She'd been working the bar for four years. Two as a bartender and two as an exotic dancer. She wasn't proud of dancing in a sexual manner for men, but it tipped well and paid for her apartment and college. She traded to bartending as soon as she was old enough and her boss, Louie, was kind enough to let her though Falcone was disappointed. He had come in twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays just to see her, sometimes even in a private room. She remembered how disappointed he had been to her tending the bar when she was twenty-one and fully clothed instead.

That was about the time their uniforms changed to V-cut tops and short shorts with fish nets and boots. Luckily she only had to wear it at work. Now she was clad it blue denim jeans and a black blouse with a warm hooded jacket. Course the jeans had blood on them and so did the shirt a bit, but it wasn't slutty. Slutty in this town got you raped, but everything did in this city. Just being a woman was asking for trouble. Take the guy that night, he would have done something if she hadn't had her knife on her. She shook her and buried her face in her hands, glad she was lucky, but still she hated this hero less city.

"Mrs. Crane?" a voice said and she shot her head up looking up at a dark black haired doctor.

She stood up from her seat and glanced at her watch. Her eyes widened, two hours. She'd been sitting there for two hours when it had only felt like two minutes. "It's Ms. Pierce. Uh, we're not married…yet."

"Sorry, I just assumed since you stayed here for the past two hours."

She shrugged with a smile that she hoped was modest. "Love makes you do the crazy. How is Jonathan?" she felt bad for all the lies but she had to know.

"He's stable. He suffered a serious trauma to the head but there's no permanent damage. Two of his ribs were injured, one cracked slightly and one broken and his wrist was sprained. He has a cut on his left side that needed to be stitched up and some bruises. But he'll be fine. He's sleeping right now, we have him on morphine for the pain."

She nodded and was deciding to leave and call a cab when he spoke again. "Would you like to sit with him?"

Emmy looked at the doctor unsure. "Isn't it past visiting hours?"

"I don't see why you can't be with your fiancée. We were unable to contact any of his family. You're all he has."

That laid the guilt on thicker with her lies. "Sure, I'd love to."

She folded her arms tightly across her chest and followed the doctor down a few halls to a door that he opened and let her into. To her right on a bed in his own room was Jonathan, sound asleep in a drug induced coma. The blood had been cleaned off, replaced with a bandage at his right temple and a nice bruise by his eye. She moved slowly into the room, glancing back at the doctor as he shut the door. She found herself submerged in the darkness with only the faint light from the moon cascading a sickly glow around the, otherwise, pale sick white walls. Being in here made her feel as somber as the place made its guests feel, it wasn't bad enough loved ones were here, the atmosphere had to bleak as well. She let out a loud sigh and ran her hands over her face before falling into the chair utterly exhausted.

"Ohh boy," she mumbled and glanced at his form in the bed. "Do I have a story to tell when you wake up? Let's just hope you don't blow my cover. This is bad enough as it is." She moved around in the seat trying to get comfortable but something was preventing that, besides for the mere fluff it was stuffed with to give comfort only succeeding in complete awkwardness, but there was something else. She reached into her back pocket and drew out his wallet. She placed it on the brown worn table near his, dare she call it, bed. "I believe this belongs to you."

Emmeline stared at his face and noticed he was more attractive beneath the blood, his face was too gentle to be handsome but too angular to be beautiful, even with the bruises she could see it. Tenderly she moved the hair from his face and caught herself, bringing the hand to her lap and keeping it there despite the desire to touch him again. It was becoming a growing magnetism inside her to touch him, to just be in his presence though he was unconscious and couldn't sense her there. She didn't even know him but was attracted to him in a way she'd never been to any of her previous boyfriends. She shook it off, it couldn't happen. He didn't know her and wouldn't want to.

She just laid her head on the thin mattress of his bed away from him and buried her face in her arm, wondering how she'd get herself out of this one.


	3. Follow Along With Intuition

AN: Here's a new chapter and thank you for the reviews. Things will start moving more with Jonathan now and I'll be adding Rachel in soon too. Enjoy! 

CHAPTER THREE – FOLLOW ALONG 

Emmy was asleep when she felt the mattress under her head move. She opened her eyes and tilted her head up a little to see Jonathan looking at her, now she was wide-awake. She sat up with a jolt, it hadn't been a dream after all. The accident had happened, the mysterious attraction was still there, and she had found her wish to come true. The first thing she noticed was his eyes, that blue hue that was so unnatural but breathtaking. Then she noticed the way he was looking at her, in a peculiarly confused manner.

"Hi…how do you feel?" she asked awkwardly, not knowing exactly what else could be said.

"Sore," he said tiredly and looked around then back at her. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"You're at Gotham Hospital…and that's a funny story."

Before she could explain everything. The door opened and the nurse came in, seemingly surprised to see Crane with his eyes open. "You're awake, Mr. Crane. That's good. You were out of it for a day almost."

"A day? What day is it?"

"Let's see. Your girlfriend brought you in early Saturday morning and now its late at night."

Jonathan frowned at Emmy at the mention of girlfriend. She bit her lower lip and looked away from his blue eyes, hoping to avert his attention elsewhere by pretending she heard nothing. "When can I go home?"

"That's for the doctor to decide. You were beat up quite badly. She saved your life. She must really love you," Emmy couldn't believe it. It wasn't bad enough they just had to lay her in a hole deeper and deeper. "I'll go get the doctor."

_Good idea_, Emmy thought in her head as the pudgy nurse left the room. She consulted her watch unable to believe she'd been asleep for nearly as long as he had. She hadn't realized she was so fatigued.

"I don't remember having a girlfriend when I went into the coma," he said bluntly, but seemingly amused.

"You don't. I'm sorry for all this trouble, it's just-." But before she could say another word, the doctor came in. She rolled her eyes. It seemed doctors were more prompt to see a patient when a dire conversation was being spoken in privacy.

"Welcome to the land of living," he greeted cheerily as he approached the other side of Jonathan's bed and took out a pen light from his pocket to check his eyes with. Emmy almost snorted at his cheeriness. "You were out of it for quite some time and so was your girlfriend here," he gave her a smile and Emmeline only blushed in embarrassment. "Good, there appears to be no permanent damage," he said and put the light back, scribbling some notes on his chart. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Jonathan repeated.

"No nausea, dizziness, headache."

"Not really…just sore."

"Do you remember what happened?"

He thought about it, eyes narrowing slightly as he stared off to focus on the memory. "Not really…I remember heading to the station and then…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I can't recall much after that."

"It's okay. Temporary amnesia happens when you take a blow to the head like you have. It'll come back to you in a day or two. Don't stress on it," the doctor glanced at Emmeline despite her hopes to become invisible. "Your fiancée has been here all night with you. You're one lucky guy to have her."

Crane looked at her while the doctor went over his clipboard. She bit her lip and shrugged, giving him an I'll-explain-later look since she was unable to do it before Doctor Cheery walked in. "Yes," Crane said after a few seconds. "I am very lucky to have a girl like her."

"When do you two plan to get married?" the doctor asked making small talk which was long talk for these two strangers.

"Uh," Crane looked at her and she shrugged with a smile trying not to laugh. "I think next Spring, in a year."

"That's great," he said with false interest. Emmy was sure the truth could have been said and the same robotic reply would have fallen from the cyborgs lips. "Well, there appears to be no severe damage to your brain. You're really lucky," the doctor said. "I think I can release you tomorrow morning around eight if you promise to take it real easy for the next week. No work, no moving around and, sorry to say it, but no sex."

Emmy buried her face in her hands, she was going to either die of embarrassment or laughter, which ever came first.

"Okay," Jonathan said.

"And you, Ms. Pierce, will have to take care of him for the next few days, keep an eye on him. He should be able to move around by next week without much trouble and then we can discuss your sexual relations."

She only nodded, she was afraid to open her mouth for ear of what would come out.

"Very well, I'll go prepare your papers for the morning. Your clothes were a bit ruined so maybe Ms. Pierce can drop by your house and pick some up for you if she wishes to. If you need a cab, I can call you one." Emmeline nodded and the doctor left the room and the minute he did Emmy broke into laughter as Crane did, though his was cut short by his bruised ribs.

"I'm so sorry," Emmy apologized. "I just said I was because they asked and it just fell out."

"It's okay. I never expected to wake up engaged. It's a nice surprise."

"I'll bet," she ran her fingers through her hair as the silence took over. She glanced around trying to think of something to say but thought of nothing. Everything she needed to say had already been revealed in the span of five minutes without much said between them. There was nothing more. She stood up from her chair. "Well, I think I'm going to go home now."

"Are you coming back?" Jonathan asked rather quickly.

Her green eyes widened in surprise. "Umm…sure. I'm just going to go change. I'll look through my closet and get some of my brother's clothes. You seem to be the same size as Chase."

"All right. I'll see you in a while then."

"Yeah. You can count on it."

The second Emmeline closed the door, Jonathan's cell phone rang. He looked around to find where it originated from and found it on the table to his left. He reached over, wincing slightly, one hand across his chest and picked it up. "Hello?"

He listened to the voice on the other end. "China? They sent you there?" He continued to listen. "A blue flower. What interest would I have in a blue flower?" His eyebrows rose as he was told. "Interesting in deed. I'll see you when you get back." He rolled his eyes. "Listen, I'm just not in the mood to discuss this right now. Your flower can wait, it is interesting. I'd love to experiment with it if what you say is true. It may come to be valuable research later, but right now I have other things to do like fight a fraudulent system and try to get ownership of the Arkham Asylum and…," he glanced at the chair Emmeline had been sitting in, his thoughts wondering back to her sheer beauty, her oval face and radiant green eyes, her bright smile and warm laughter. She was another challenge. "And other more important things." He nodded his head. "I'll speak with you later." He flipped his phone shut and rested back against the pillows, wondering how the worse night of his life had made out for the best.

Emmeline plopped down on the couch in her living room face first across it, burying her head in a pillow. She was sore from her sleep in the cushion less chair and her back and neck ached from the way she had slept. She understood why people normally didn't like to sleep in hospitals, it hurt. The couch, which to her was normally uncomfortable to sleep on, was blissful at the moment with its springs.

She sat up despite the protest her body gave and rubbed her neck as she stood and went to the kitchen counter. Her apartment wasn't too big. To the left of her front door was the kitchen which had two counters, one for food and one that faced the living room that was used as a table with stools set up at it and her answering machine along with a stack of her bills. Then the living room that held an old beat up blue couch from her old house and two lounge chairs that she got at a yard ale, one green, one yellow. It all clashed with the deep red carpet but she didn't care. She didn't have the money or the time to care. Across from the kitchen her bedroom door was closed and so was her bathroom door. She checked the locks on the windows, all were shut tight and she had to unlock all three locks on her door to get in so no one had tried anything.

It wasn't the safest part of Gotham but it wasn't the Narrows. Anything was better than living with the junkies and dealers there. She was in the in-between, not in the worst part of the city but not in the best. She preferred it here then there with the dealers and rapist and every kind of criminal you could imagine.

Emmy reached over and hit the answering machine button that was flashing red with messages. It rewound and beeped making a few clicking noises as she rummaged through the fridge for a Starbucks Double Shot that she had stored away.

"Hey Emmy, it's Louie, just wonderin' where ya are. It's ten o'clock and I thought yous was comin' in tanight. Gimme a call when ya can. Ya ain't in trouble or nothin' I jus' worried about ya is all. Bye."

She smiled as she took a drink. Louie was a nice guy. Big Italian guy and he looked tough, but he was a sweetheart. The machine clicked and beeped again. "Hey sissy," she rolled her eyes at her brother's nickname. "I guess you're not in or you're sleeping or something. I'm just calling to check in on you. I'll talk to you later."

She hit delete on the machine and picked up her cordless, dialing in the number to Treasure Chest. It rang twice before Louie answered from his office upstairs, away from the music. He avoided being downstairs unless it was necessary. In other words, if trouble was being started or if democrats were in the house.

"Treasure Chest, this is Louie speakin'. How can I help you?"

She smiled. "Hey Louie, you fat slob. It's Emmy."

"Emmy, you lil bitch. You had me worried sick," he chuckled. "I called yous like two hours ago. I thought you might have ran inta some trouble on the train. I was gonna send Greg and Marlo out to look for you."

"No need, I'm fine."

"Well, where've ya been?"

"It's a long story," she said looking down at her blood stained clothes. She needed a shower and a change before heading back to the hospital.

"Well, I got time if you do."

She sighed and took a swig from her double shot. "All right. To make a long story short, I was on my home last night, wishing to God for a change in my life and it was granted in a way I didn't imagine."

"What's you mean?"

"I saved a guy who had been injured in a mugging. Someone mugged him and left him for dead and I found him."

"Tell me it was Bruce Wayne and your rich cuz I claim ya if ya are."

She laughed and shook her head, moving into her room to look through her closet. "No, it wasn't Wayne. He's been missing for a year with no sign of him. It was a different guy."

"Anyone we know of?"

"No, not one of Falcone's guys. This guy is a psychiatrist."

"Mmm-hmm, and ya wouldn't happen to find him attractive now would ya?"

"He's different from other guys I've dated in the past. That's for sure."

"Whadda ya mean?"

"I mean he's smart. He has to be since he's a psychiatrist. He has no tattoos, no piercings, and he's not big and bad."

"Dear God, he's a geek."

She laughed as she picked out a black tank top and a new pair of blue jeans. "No, he's not a geek…not entirely and I'm not dating him. I just saved his life."

"Which means ya like him?"

"No I don't."

"Are ya comin' inta work cuz if not, Carol would love an extra shift. Harvey's here tonight and you know how she likes Harvey."

"The young lawyer?"

"Yeah. He ain't corrupt but he's two-faced if he's hangin' out in here."

"You're always so judgmental, Louie, always making assumptions about people," she said. She reached into her cabinet and took out two towels, setting them on the bathroom sink then went back into her room and pulled out a box from the corner of her closet.

"I ain't assuming nothin'. I have intuition on people. Call ESP if you like. I know these things. Jus' like I know you like this mystery guy and if he's as smart as you say he is, he likes you, too."

"Shut up, Louie," she laughed. "Give Carol my shift then. I gotta go back to the hospital."

"Why?"

"Because he asked me to come back."

Louie snorted on the other end. "Yeah, and you don't like him. You and this guy are gonna be a match, Emmy. You and him are gonna be together. Marriage kids the whole nine yards. He's gonna make you happy."

"I'm not gonna argue with you."

"Cuz I'm right. I'm always right."

"What ever you say."

"Hey, I was right bout your brother wasn't I? I told ya he'd find his way and he did."

"Yeah, Russell did after doing time for three years."

"But he went straight. Stopped druggin' and stopped stealin'. He's been straight for ten years now. But I told you Joey'd be the problem. Now he's in jail out in California."

"I know," she sighed sadly.

"And Chase is doing all right."

"Yeah, never calls never writes. Not so much as a damn Christmas card in the last eight years since he split on me and Russell."

"I'm sorry bout that, but you still got me, sweetheart. Louie ain't goin' nowhere."

"That's a relief," she teased and pulled out a black T-shirt and sweats from the box that had once been Chase's. They looked like they'd fit Jonathan. She folded them and set them on her bed with a pair of socks.

"Well, you better go princess. Go see your night in suited armor. Invite me to the weddin'."

"Go to hell," she chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't bother. Take some time off to be with the guy."

"I can't go that long without working, Louie and you know it."

"Call it paid vacation. I'll see you in a week."

He hung up before she could reply. She smiled and tossed the phone on her bed. She glanced at it one more time, thinking of Louie's words about Jonathan. _He's gonna make you happy…_ _I know these things_. She shook her head and got into the shower.


	4. Too Late to Turn Back

A/N: Wow! Thank you for the reviews. I'm so glad some of you caught my Harvey insert. Here's a new chapter You guys motivated me to get a new one out for you. I wasn't going to post again until I had another day off work, but here's a treat for you. Enjoy! 

CHAPTER FOUR – Too Late to Turn Back 

Emmy walked into the hospital, freshly showered with make-up, no blood, no raccoon eyes, no wrinkles. She looked better than the Narrows. She took a cab instead of the train, didn't want to risk bumping into Mr. Rapist. Not at eleven at night, not after last night, no repeats necessary. She had enough of rescuing people and being threatened. Besides, there were enough lies going around as it was. She didn't need to add on to it.

"Can I help you miss?" one of the nurses at the station asked. She didn't recognize this one. She was a brunette with the name tag Leslie. Not the normal black lady she was friends with.

"I'm here to see Jonathan Crane," she told her, pointing down the hall.

"Visiting hours are over, ma'am."

"I know, but he's expecting me."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"I came back here to be with him."

"I'm sorry," she wouldn't budge, just fixed her with that glare and smile.

Emmy ran her fingers through her dark brown hair and turned to leave.

"Let her in, Leslie," another voice spoke, Southern and sweet. She turned back and saw Betty standing there. "She's his future wife. She's allowed in to see him."

Leslie shrugged and took off to do rounds, but more than likely to walk off her steam from not getting her way.

Emmy smiled and mouthed "thank you"

Betty smiled. "You're welcome. Since you're here, you can sign his release papers for the morning. You are his fiancé after all." She gave Emmy a wink.

She blushed but signed the papers for Jonathan and then thanked Betty one more time. She stood outside Jonathan's door for a moment, fixing her hair with one hand since the other held the clothes. She pulled a mirror from her purse and checked her make-up. Perfectly in order. Emmy stopped and realized what she was doing. She tucked the mirror away, making herself look presentable for a man she didn't know and never would. He was way out of her league. She was a bartender, he was a psychiatrist, visible difference. "Don't be ridiculous."

She cleared her throat and opened the door. Light shed gently on Jonathan from the hall, he was sound asleep, head tilted to the side, one arm hanging off the bed the other up above his head in an attempt to get comfortable. She smiled and closed the door as quietly as she could and placed the bag on the table then took her seat. She sat there and watched him sleep for a while., watched his chest rise and fall, studied his slightly parted lips, saw beyond the bruises on his face. It took her a minute to realize she was smiling, but she couldn't stop herself. Not matter what she said.

Emmy glanced at his arm that hung off the bed and touched it softly, his skin was smooth and there was actually muscle beneath them. As carefully as she could, she moved it back onto the bed so she wouldn't wake him. He moved a little but didn't wake. Just sighed and fidgeted a little. She sat back in the chair with her head resting on her hand and just watched him the entire night.

Emmy came back into the room to find Jonathan awake the next morning. She had left to grab a cup of coffee, then decided a Pepsi was probably more sanitary and drinkable than the coffee that was more edible. When she came back in he was sitting up in bed, wide awake.

"You came back?" he said sounding shocked as he attempted to sit up without wincing, but found it be unsuccessful.

"You told me to," she countered and took a seat.

"What time is it?"

"Time to get you out of here," she said and handed him the bag of clothes she had brought in with her last night. "These were my brothers. They'll fit."

"Don't I have to sign some papers or something?"

"Already taken care of."

"You signed them?" he asked.

She nodded with a smile. "I'm your fiancée remember?"

He smiled and shook his head. "You're right. How could I forget that?"

"Probably the concussion. What do you say you get dressed and I'll go call a cab to get you home," she said and stood up to leave the room. She went to the waiting room and called from a pay phone. By the time she went back to his room, he was already dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The nurse came in and left me my medication," he said, holding up a paper white bag. "I think its just pain pills, which should account for some fun later on. But she told me to wait here for the wheelchair. Apparently you have to be wheeled out in one against your will no matter how much you debate the fact."

"How interesting," Emmy smiled.

The door opened and Betty came in with the chair. "All right. Here you go, young man. Sit down right here and I'll wheel you outside then you're good to walk on your own two feet."

By the time they got outside, the cab was waiting for them, door open. Jonathan stood up without help and made it into the back of the cab with a sigh as he rested his head against the cushion, that alone took more energy out of him than he thought it would. Emmy crawled in next to him but sat a foot apart, she didn't want to get too close.

She sat so far towards the door that Jonathan just stared out the window of the cab, thoughts of what had happened running through his mind. He couldn't analyze her the way he could every other patient he saw. They were easy books to read, but she was shut tight. He glanced at her as she stared out her window, arms folded over her stomach. It just made him more and more curious to scrutinize such a complicated person. Not that she was one of his patients, or that he wanted her to be, but he saw more interest in her, to examine her in a different mental puzzle than anyone else. She was different from other girls he had met in the past.

All others were merely self-involved with little about them besides for what the mirror held. Everything going for them on the outside, but an empty eggshell on the inside and nothing but air in the capacity that should have held intellect. He found Emmeline to be different, in fact, the opposite. She was gorgeous, he had to admit, but not in the spotlight shining manner. She was the quiet beauty, little make-up, little effort, no desire to even try. Though beneath the baggy sweater and under the dark mane on her hair that fell in waves behind her till it hit mid back in a stop, he was sure was a breathtaking beauty. But the fact she concealed it within a humble and conservative manner that was seen little by little in Gotham. In a city where everyone flaunted money, power, fear, and beauty it was a nice surprise to see someone who didn't. It gave him hope for the remains of the dismal place he dared called home.

He hadn't seen hope in it since the day the Wayne's died and the city fell. The only hope Gotham had died the day their only son, Bruce Wayne, disappeared into the night a year ago. The bastard was as selfish as the rest, abandoning the city that needed him because he couldn't deal. Jonathan gritted his teeth at the thought of the young billionaire's indulgent act and rubbed at his eyes, wishing he had his glasses to stop the strain.

"Are you okay?"

He blinked and turned his head to Emmy. He had forgotten the young girl was there, she had been so quiet and he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts. He gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. "I tend to get lost in my on mind sometimes."

"Must happen a lot since you're a psychiatrist."

"How do you know my profession?"

"I saw your pass to the asylum in your wallet," she said. "Sorry for snooping."

"It's all right. You must have been bored sitting in the hospital with nothing to do," he told her and she smiled before turning back to the window and biting her lower lip. There was something edging in her mind, but she wouldn't speak it. This only gained further interest from Crane.

The car stopped in front of the luxurious apartment building that scraped the sky with its old age arches. He was amused with the shocked look on Emmeline's face as they both got out of the cab, Jonathan moving a bit slower.

Emmy paid the cabbie and stood by Jonathan, staring up at the monstrous building, of course it wasn't as large and glamorous as Wayne Tower but it was still breathtaking as it reached the skies in vertical lines and an old tan color that made it classical. Gargoyles and angels decorated ledges at the top of the heights, signifying the balance in the world and the beauty of different creatures.

"Wow," Emmeline gasped. "You live here?"

He nodded. "My apartments on the fifteenth floor."

"How high does it go?"

"It reaches fifty-five floors. I'm not very high up on the scale, but it's good enough for me."

She only nodded as they entered through the revolving glass doors and into the lobby that hadn't be modernized, but touched up. The tile seemed to be the same tile it had been decades before, all white tiled stone. They passed the lobby and moved down a red carpeted hall to the elevators.

Jonathan pressed the up button and leaned against the wall. He was starting to feel the pain again in his ribs. Whatever medication they had him on was wearing off and he was beginning to feel the effects of his mugging and wished to sleep for three days straight in his own bed.

The doors opened and they both stepped in and both reached for the same button, hands brushing each others as they hit it. He caught Emmeline's blush and she drew her hand back, tucking her hair behind her ear and staring at the floor. They didn't speak. For some reason, no one spoke in an elevator. It was an unwritten law of some sort. Even two bets friends would hush while riding up or down.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Jonathan gestured for her to follow and led her to apartment 225. His apartment. Jonathan paused in front of the door, tired and worn out, but realizing he didn't have his keys. He pursued his lips and turned to Emmeline who smiled, dangling a set from her fingers. She shook them. "Hospital gave me your stuff. I'm your fiancée, remember?" she turned her head to the side. "Or did you forget that?"

He chuckled despite the pain he was beginning to feel. " I must have blocked you out in the depths of my mind after I was hit over the head."

"It's forgivable," she shrugged and stuck the key in the lock, twisting and pushing the door open. Jonathan gestured her inside and she went. He followed, closing the door behind him.

He had thought she was flabbergasted when they came into the building, then she was in shock now. He smiled at her reaction. Her jaw was nearly on the floor and her green eyes looked like emeralds as she stared at the expanse. He had to admit, it was quite impressive for a man of only twenty-three.

"This…this is your place?" she asked.

"Yes. I bought it a year ago after I was hired as the police departments apprentice psychiatrist. I'm still in the process of learning a few more things. I predict I'll be working on my own in the next month," he told her and winced at the twinge of pain in his chest. "Maybe two."

"Wow…this place could fit six of my apartments."

They were standing in the kitchen area. Like her own, Jonathan's opened up with the kitchen on the left, but his was twice as big. He had a table set up in the beige and black area. The countertops were made of wood and all shined to perfection. His cabinets had glass doors and all his plates and bowls matched the cups…unlike her own where some bowls were Cool Whip containers and cups were from the ninety-nine cent store with plastic utilities. She highly doubted his forks and knives were plastic, much less his plates paper.

In front of them was the large expanse of his living room, equipped with black leather couches and chairs that looked way more comfortable than her couch had been the day it was bought twenty years ago. A crystal glass coffee table was set in-between one of the couches and the giant television set that had a wooden carved cabinet next to it that she bet held a variety of DVD's and possibly CD's judging by the stereo system beneath the TV that was held in the cabinet below the set. The other couches and lounge chairs were closer to the large windows. The dark curtains were drawn for now, but the view outside it was more than likely breathtaking.

"Wow," was all she could say. "Your living room could hold my apartment…twice.""I don't mean to sound haughty, but this is just the front area."

She turned her head in shock and he nodded. "Yes. I know. See there's a hallway straight ahead and down it is my office and bedroom and a bathroom and an extra bedroom. Out here is a bathroom for guests," he pointed to her right and she failed to see the closed door to her right away from the television. There was a closet next to it too. "And over here is another room I use for storage," he pointed to the other side. She stepped forward a little and saw another door on the other side of the kitchen.

"Wow. Make that twelve of my apartments. How did you afford this place?"

He walked into the living room to sit down on the couch. He moved slower than before, the pain was beginning to sink in as he sunk onto the couch. "My parents left me a trust fund. It was the only decent thing my father ever did for me before he went to prison."

"Prison?" she frowned and sat next to him on the other side of the couch.

He nodded. "He was a wealthy man. Mind you, he wasn't as secure as the Wayne's were, but he had enough to be seen in society's eyes as acceptable. Money went to his mind and he wanted more of it, he wanted more power. He was driven to the point he thought people were against him…even my mother and I. He used…" he paused and took a deep breath as he remembered his tender childhood. "He used to abuse me physically to find the answers he wanted as to who I was siding with, him or his partner, my uncle. He hit my mother too, accused her of infidelity and declared that I wasn't his son." He couldn't even look at Emmeline as he told her, he could only glance her way once in awhile but his eyes stayed on the crystal table in front of him, as if he could lock all his pain away in the glittering glass. "One night, he was working with my uncle and he confronted him. They got into some kind of conflict and my father stabbed him fourteen times in the chest. Another man walked in and my father killed him and ran. The cops fled after him and my father ended up shooting one before being shot himself. He didn't die then, he died in prison two years later after getting involved in another fight."

"Oh my God…" Emmeline whispered and moved closer. "I'm so sorry, Jonathan."

"It's all right. It's why I chose my profession. To study people, criminals. To find out why they do what they do. Why they commit these horrendous crimes."

"You'll find the answer. At least some good came from your childhood."

"I take it yours was as glamorous as mine."

She smiled and shook her head. "Not as terrible as that, but I grew up with three older brothers."

"I pity you already."

"Thank you," she teased. "We lived in a two bedroom apartment in the Narrows and made next to nothing in money. Me and my three brothers shared one room while my mom and dad shared the other. My mom died when I was young of heart disease. My dad disappeared after that. He used to abuse my brother's but never me. I was his princess he used to say, but he left me anyways. My older brothers took care of me since they were all grown up when my mother died. It didn't work out much. I graduated and decided I wanted to go to school, but I didn't have enough money, so I got a job I never wanted and worked for a man I never thought I would. My brother Chase moved when I was eighteen, I haven't seen him since and my middle brother, Joey is in prison, and Russell cleaned up his act and has a decent job as a mechanic in the city. I see him all the time."

"How tragic," he said and meant it. He felt truly bad for the way she grew up.

"Not really. I don't live in the Narrows anymore and I just finished school with a BA in Criminal Law."

"I like to hear that. Do you still work the job you didn't like?"

"Uhh," she nodded. "Yeah. I still need the money since I'm not exactly being hired by the millions. But I don't do what I used to. I work the bar now."

"What did you do before? If I may ask?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled noisily. "My mother must have been rolling in her grave…I was an exotic dancer…I occasionally stripped."

His eyebrows raised in his own shock. "Oh."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly the type of girl that belongs in a place like this," she gestured at the expanse of the apartment.

"You do what you have to in order to survive that doesn't involve violence. How can anyone question that?"

"You'd be surprised," she told him. "Not many are willing to hire an ex-stripper and it doesn't exactly get the best date choices."

"What do you mean?"

"All I've dated is sleazeballs in the past. They've hit me or stole from me to break it off. I really know how to chose them. I just have the worst luck with men. I blame it on my overly cheerful personality and looks."

"You're beautiful," he said and sat up with a slight wince. "How can you even say that?"

"I've been left for pretty blondes every time."

"You are beautiful, Emmeline. Just because you don't fit into society's expectations of big breasted, blue eyed blondes with expensive fake tans and surgical uplifting procedures, doesn't make you any less beautiful," he touched her hand and felt her tense but found the courage not to move away. "It makes the rest of the world blind except for those who can see your light in the dark of this city. There are few lights left. You're one of them and the brightest I've seen so far in the darkness we call Gotham."

She had no idea what to say as they locked eyes and held hands. No one had ever called her beautiful with such a sincere look in their eyes as Jonathan was now. His soft blue eyes were glowing with emotion, warm and soft as he was. They stood out more so with the purple bruise by his eye, but still they remained so soft and sincere as the words he spoke, proving that words weren't just words. She found herself falling harder for the man she barely met.   
"You're very good with your words, very intellectual," she said and felt like kicking herself. Complementing him on his impressive speaking skills! What was she, twelve?

He let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped like a balloon deflated. "Thank you."

His hand still didn't move away and Emmy was unsure with what to do. She wanted to stay, wanted him to ask, but he just stared at the blank television.

"Emmeline," he said and she turned her head towards him so fast her hair hung in her face. "You have a bright personality. I'm just returning a compliment with another."

It was her turn to let out a deflated sigh. "Oh."

She waited a few more seconds before standing up and sliding her hand away from his. "Well," she cleared her throat. "I'll be going then. It was great meeting you, Jonathan Crane, but I got work and stuff to get back to and a life to return to." She started heading towards the door.

Jonathan couldn't believe it. He'd been waiting for her to say something, anything. To get what was hiding behind her eyes to come out, but she wouldn't do it. And then he returned her attempt at emotions with an accolade on her personality! What was he, twelve? He knew it was her nervous attempt to say something else despite what she wanted to say to him, it was a defense mechanism, he knew that. He had the degree to prove these things. They had opened up to each other about painful facts. He talked about his family issues. No one knew about them but his mother. Emmy didn't even flinch or run at the thought of him having a murderer for a father. She'd practically been abandoned herself. They had both said these deep emotions to each other after she had already saved his life. And now the girl of his dreams was walking out the door. He couldn't let that happen.

"Wait! You can't leave," Jonathan called out before he realized it and jumped to his feet, suddenly wishing he hadn't. Two things happened at once. His vision blurred and pain exploded in his chest from the ribs and stab wound. He let out a small cry and gripped his chest with one hand the other going to his head to stop the world from spinning and the black dots from completely taking over his sight.

He could barely see but he felt an arm go around his shoulders, the other on his stomach, careful of the wound near it and he heard Emmeline's voice through the dotted darkness.

"Jonathan! Jonathan, can you hear me? Say something." There was clearly panic in her voice. He took that as a good omen, though he wished there had been a better way of going about this because this was not what he had in mind. He was planning to tell her how he felt. That didn't work too well.

"I…I can hear you," he said as the dots subsided, but the pain in his chest, and now in his head, did not. It felt like a jackhammer was having a Monday morning meeting with the asphalt in his skull.

"Let's sit you down right here right now before I put you in bed," she said and sat him on the couch as best she could without hurting him. It wasn't easy but she managed and Jonathan noted in his pain filled mind that her arms never left him. In fact, her hand was brushing his neck and cheek every now and then.

He took a slight breath, ribs aching with each one. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by my injuries. You can't leave."

"Why's that?"

"Because…" he hadn't thought of that, he had to come up with something random and then it hit him. "You're supposed to take care of me and you should uphold your obligation…besides…you're my fiancée."

She licked the inside of her cheek and drummed her fingers on his shoulder, eyes narrowing mockingly. "Now you remember I'm your fiancée."

"Mm-hmm."

"What happened to the amnesia?"

"It's all coming back to me, I believe," he went along with it.

"Yeah. Okay then where did we meet?"

"Wasn't it at the subway?"

"I think it might have been."

"What about our first kiss, you remember that?"

"Hmm," he mocked thinking. "No, I don't recall that yet."

"How about how you proposed?"

"No, I can't remember that either?"

"What about the first time we had sex?"

He smiled, but didn't dare laugh. "As stimulating and incredible as it might have been, I can't remember yet."

"It'll come back to you later."

"Hopefully," he teased and yawned suddenly. He had taken a lot out of himself over the past few hours. He hadn't expected to be so worn and drained…and in pain, as he was.

"You need to get to bed," Emmeline told him.

"Actually, I don't wish to move at the moment. That will hurt considerably if I walk to my room. I'll take a nap here."

Emmeline nodded, liking the idea. "Okay," she stood up and helped him move his legs onto the couch. She felt horrible every time he said "ow". She was trying to be as gentle as possible but that wasn't working too well with someone who had broken ribs and a stab wound. Once he was settled she grabbed a blanket from the spare room he directed her to and covered him with it. She then got a bottle of water from the fridge in the kitchen and one of his pain pills and sleeping pills. He swallowed them and placed the bottle on the table, already feeling the effects of the sleeping pill on top of his own fatigue.

"Are you staying?" he asked, eyes half shut.

"Yeah. I'll stay here for a while. But I need to go get some things from my place. I'll be back."

"Take my house keys so you can get back in," he whispered, eyes closing.

"Will do," she moved to stand.

"Emmeline," he spoke and she sat back down next to him on the couch.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He was asleep a second later, knocked out by the medications. She ran her fingers through his black hair, feeling the softness of it. She didn't bother stopping herself, it was too late for that. Her only regret was that she couldn't bring herself to do it when he was lucid. She stood to leave but paused, bending down to kiss him tenderly on the cheek. "I'll be back," she whispered, not regretting the small kiss. It was too late for that. She was already in love with Jonathan Crane.


	5. Always Neighbors

A/N: Wow! So many reviews. I'm overwhelmed by it all. I didn't think this story would do so well, but I was wrong. I still don't know what will happen in the end, I have like 3 different ideas and it's all complicated but I at least have this chapter done up. Enjoy!

CHAPTER FIVE – Always Neighbors 

The cab ride to her place was considerably quick. Which, for her, was good since she wanted to get back to Jonathan's as soon as possible. She didn't like the thought of leaving him alone and defenseless, even if it was a significantly safe part of the city, it still bugged her.

"Hey, stranger," a voice said behind her as she started up the stairs to the sixth floor since the elevator was out of service and had been for the past six months. She turned to see Rachel Dawes following her up.

She smiled at her best friend and neighbor. The two girls had known each other since they were in kindergarten making mud pies together. She remembered finding it so cool that Rachel lived in Wayne Manor since her mom was their maid. She'd ride the subway over there at least twice a week to play with Rachel and Bruce. But after Bruce's parents died, Rachel moved back into the city and Emmeline found herself seeing more of Rachel, less of Bruce. It was fine with her, she could understand, but she still felt sorry for the young boy. His parents had made the city safe. The Narrows weren't half as bad then as they were now. It used to be a safe part of town with little criminal activity and the monorail stations didn't make you feel fearful.

So her and Rachel got to hang out more often. Rachel was there for her when her mother died and her father left and when Russell first went to jail for drugs. She was there when Russell got clean and Chase left and Joey ended up in prison. They even attended the same college and shared a few of the same classes. And they were both around when Bruce came back to the city to see the trial…and then vanished. Neither of them had heard from their friend since that day and Rachel had been with him more that day, though she never confessed her feelings, Emmeline always knew Rachel had a thing for Bruce. Bruce was either too blind or didn't care since he was drowning himself in the same sorrows for fourteen years. Now he was gone and it pissed her off as much as it did Rachel. But neither talked about it.

"Hey Rachel. You just getting in?" she asked and waited till she caught up before they walked up the rest of the way together.

"Yeah. There was another trial this morning, a rape case. Harvey was the victims lawyer, I told him I'd be there and watch since Carl was the D.A. and I work under him."

"How fun for you," Emmeline teased her.

"Always a joy to watch the system fall apart. But I'm still trying. Falcone's not making it any easier on the rest of us. He's keeping the poor scared and the rich wealthy so no one bothers to do anything about it."

If Jonathan called her a light in the darkness of the city, that made Rachel one too. She was fighting the same corrupt battle as the rest of them. Except she was already inside, Emmeline was still trying to get a job there.

"So still no call backs?"  
"No, not yet," she sighed, referring to her countless applications to the departments.

"I'm trying. But I don't have a voice there yet."

"Don't worry about it. I have enough going on as it is."

"Speaking of which," Rachel smiled with curiosity. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in awhile and Russell's been going nuts looking for you. He's asked me twice now since he's dropped by but I've had no idea."

"Something came up," she told her.

"Do tell."

She took a deep breath and gave her friend the basics of the events that passed. When she was done Rachel's eyes were wide. "Crane…Jonathan Crane…he works at the department I believe. I've seen him around. Real quiet guy."

"Never would have known it. I can't get him to shut up."

"So you're staying at his place?" Rachel said with a smile.

"Shut up," she laughed. "You're as bad as Louie is."

"Well, I'm just curious. You're staying at a guy's house. You haven't dated in eons. And now suddenly there's a guy in your life."

"He's a nice guy. Speaking of which, I got to hurry up and get back to his place. When I left him he was hurting pretty bad," she said and looked at her watch.

It was barely one in the afternoon as they trudged up the stairs to their landing. Emmeline dug out her house keys to open her door, but paused suddenly. Her door was cracked open. She had secured every lock on her way out the other night.

"Rachel...was my door open this morning?"

"No why?" Rachel was digging through her own purse to find her keys.

She tapped her friend on the shoulder and pointed. Rachel was as shocked as she was. Emmeline headed towards the door until Rachel grabbed her arm.

"Wait," she dug out her Taser gun from her purse and held it tight then nodded at Emmeline to go ahead. She pushed the door open and both girls went in aware of everything around them.

The living room and kitchen were both empty as they stepped through the house and so was her bedroom and bathroom. The two girls stood in the living room, facing her bedroom. "No one's here."

"Maybe they left," Rachel suggested.

"Or maybe they were waiting for you to enter," an accented voice behind them spoke. Both girl gasped and spun around to see Carmine Falcone and two of his men standing there. One of his guys closed the door as Falcone smiled. He was the most feared man in Gotham with his fingers hooked in the city's system. He kept the poor scared and the rich wealthy so no one bothered to stop him except for the few "lights" who refused to join the "darkness." "It ain't polite to enter before the ladies do."

"It's not polite to come in uninvited either," Emmeline told him, not in the least bit afraid of her boss's manager.

He smiled and smoothed out the sleeve of his gray suit that cost more than her apartment. "I only came by to see ya, Emmeline. Where've ya been? You weren't at work last night."

"I took time off for awhile," she told him.

"I missed ya though," he said. "Why you out for awhile?"

"Taking care of a friend."

"Ah," he nodded his head and glanced at Rachel who still held the Taser, shooting Falcone the dirtiest of looks.

"Please put the Taser gun away, Ms. Dawes. It's annoyin' me."

"Make me," she spoke through gritted teeth. Emmeline's friend was set on seeing Falcone spend the remainder of his life behind bars. But that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Not as long as Falcone owned the city, which he was already starting to do. It was only a matter of time, a few more years at most, that the city would be his.

"Have it your way," he gave a nod and Emmeline frowned, turning to see over her shoulder. A guy shoved her sideways. Emmy hit the floor on her ass and watched as the guy slapped Rachel across the face hard enough to send her to the floor and took her Taser gun. He'd been in her closet, he had to have been. She never looked there. The guy stood by Falcone, handing him the Taser. He placed it on the table.

"You can have it back after we leave. We didn't come here to hurt ya," he spoke softly as if it were understandable.

Emmeline stood up and helped Rachel to her feet. Her friend's cheek was bright red from the slap. "You got what you wanted, Falcone. I'll be back next week. Please go."

"Will do," he nodded and gestured at the doors. One of the guys opened it for him and he paused a moment. "Oh yeah, tell Russell I said hello. I sure do miss him. He was one of my best sellers. If he ever needs a job, he knows where to find me."

Emmeline kept her jaw locked as the bastard left her apartment. If Emmeline could have, she would have made sure it was in a body bag. He was polite enough to close the door behind him. She shook her head and brought her attention back to Rachel. She put a hand on her friends shoulder. "Let me see," Rachel moved her hand away for Emmeline to examine. "It'll bruise slightly if you don't put some ice on it. Take a seat."

Rachel plopped down on the couch as Emmeline went into the kitchen and put some ice in a washrag. She gave it to her friend and put the Taser gun back into her purse. "I have no idea why you carry that thing?"

"Never know when it might come in handy," she said and moved her jaw to see how much it would hurt. Didn't even sting much. "Why is he interested in you?"

"I don't know. He took a liking to me when I was a dancer. Hasn't really stopped yet. He used to hang that fact over my brother's head all the damn time because Russ used to work for him."

"I think he wants you to be one of his girl's."

"Won't happen," she snorted and folded her arms across her chest. "The sooner I work at the station the sooner I'll be rid of him for good."

"We'll get him one day," Rachel promised. "He'll go to prison."

She chuckled at the thought. "He has a better chance of going insane. Rachel, you'll never get the guy. There's too many leaks in the district as it is. He won't stay even if he does get arrested."

"Knock, knock," Russell said just then as he opened the door and stepped in. "Well look who decided to come home," he smiled at his sister. "Where have you-" he paused when he saw Rachel with an ice rag to her cheek. "What the hell happened?"

"Falcone came by to see me," Emmeline told him as he walked over and kneeled down in front of Rachel. He moved her hand aside and inspected the red mark.

"I'll kill him," Russell growled, his blue eyes lighting on fire.

"Russ, leave it. You'll be dead before you get within ten feet and you know it. Just leave him. Karma will get him sooner than later."

"Karma better drop a big fucking bomb on his head," he spat.

"Language," she scolded.

"Sorry sissy," he apologized and sat in a chair across from the couch. Her brother was taller than her by about nine inches and older by eleven years. But they had the same thick dark hair, except his was cropped short. His eyes were a dark blue while hers were green and both of them were tan naturally an d had oval shaped faces. But Russell seemed older than he was from his years on the street and in prison. He'd been clean of drugs and Falcone for a decade and had a nice apartment with his girlfriend who was a church going girl and a 5th grade teacher, which made her good enough to date her brother.

He scratched at the stubble on his chin. "So where've you been?"

Her and Rachel shared a look. "You won't believe me. You'll get all brotherly on me."

"No I won't," he said. "What happened?"

She sighed and told him. By the time she was done his eyes were wide and he was struggling hard not to say anything, but as she thought, he couldn't hold it in. "What? You nearly got raped and you're staying with a guy you don't know? Are you nuts or stupid?"

"Told you you'd get brotherly on me," she said and stood from the couch, heading towards her bedroom to pack some clothes.

Rachel and Russell followed her, her brother was still ranting.

"You are not staying with him."

"And her staying here getting harassed by Falcone is so much better?" Rachel defended her, hands on her hips.

"Stay out of it, Rach," he said, pointing a finger at her.

She slapped his hand away. "I won't stay out of it until you come to your senses. Her staying here is more dangerous at the moment than her staying with this guy."

"I don't care. I don't like it."

"I don't care what you think," Emmeline told him, folding jeans into her suitcase.

"You should I'm your brother."

"Doesn't make you God."

"Makes me smarter though."

"It makes you more judgmental," she argued.

"You're not going."

She laughed. "Of all the things I've done in my life, you pitch a fit over this one."

"Because I'm a guy."

"Because you're stupid," Rachel argued back and helped Emmeline pack.

"I'm stupid," he chuckled and pointed at Rachel. "At least I'm not holding my breath over some loser prick ever coming back to this city and leaving the rest of us to rot. And frankly, I can't blame him after dealing with you two for so long."

Rachel locked her jaw and stared at him, clearly hurt by his words even Emmeline paused in the middle of folding a shirt. Russell took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. "I didn't mean it like that," he spoke softer. "It's just…you two are the only family I have left. I wasn't a good brother before when I was working for Falcone and in prison…but I'm here now. You guys are all I've got in the world. Everyone else abandoned us and I don't want to lose either of you."

Emmeline smiled softly and walked over to hug her brother. Rachel joined them after Russell beckoned her, holding them both close. "Be careful then," he told Emmeline. "If he's a good guy he'll treat you right and not try anything he shouldn't. You take your cell and call me."

"Will do," she pulled away and started to finish packing.

"And you," he shook Rachel's shoulder. "I need to teach you how to fight like me and Joey did Emmy. You need to be careful too, Rach, especially where you work. Falcone will own in it in a few more years."

"Don't remind me," she rubbed at her temples.

Russell sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I got to get going. I'm having lunch with Bridget and her parents in an hour and I gotta get ready."

"Don't botch it, Russ," she teased. "I'll call you later."

"You better," he warned her as he left her apartment.

Emmeline finished packing and zipped up he suitcase.

"How long are you staying?"

"At least a week," she answered, lugging the thing to the door. "It'll be good to get out of here."

"I'll go down with you," Rachel said as they left the apartment, making sure it was locked this time.

"You don't have to."

"I want to," she said and followed Emmeline down. "I hope you have fun."

"I'm taking care of an injured guy. How fun can it get?"

"Still its better than serving your drinks to guys at bars and dealing with crooked cops all day. Not to mention Falcone."

She nodded her head. "Good point."

"Besides, you never know where this may lead. It could have good things for you."

Emmeline shrugged as she hailed a taxi. "Right now I just want to take things as they come. Me and this guy are just friends right now and I like it that way for the time being."

Rachel gave her a smile as a taxi pulled up and Emmeline opened the door, throwing her suitcase in. "You never know. He could be the love of your life."

"Yeah," she teased, jabbing her friends arm. "And he could be your worst nightmare."

"If he's with you I can stand him."

"Quit playing Miss Match. I don't know the guy," Emmeline slid into the seat.

"You'll get to know him in the week. Let me know how things work out with you there Just relax and have a nice time away from Falcone."

Emmeline nodded her head and shut the door, giving the cabby the directions to Jonathan's. Emmy let out a sigh as they approached his building, wondering slightly if what everyone said was true. But only time would tell for the two of them.


	6. Remembering a Kiss

A/N: Sorry its taking so long. My sister had her tonsil's taken out and I've been taking care of her, but here's a new chapter. And don't worry. It'll be the happy times with these two before we get into the creepy, but loveable, Jonathan as he turns into Scarecrow with more of that overdone dialogue we love from him. But on to the happier times. Enjoy! 

CHAPTER SIX – Remembering a Kiss 

A few days had past and Jonathan felt the pain easing away without the help of the medication. He was still sore, but the stitches had come out and he was promoted to only having bruised ribs, which was a step up from broken and a big step in the pain factor. The bruises on his face were just about gone and he was allowed to walk around now but still no work. He put up an argument with the doctor on that one, but in the end the doctor won and made sure Emmeline saw the promise through.

She'd been staying in his guest room, right across the hall from him and too many times to count he wondered if she was on the other side of the hall thinking of him as he was her. The tension between them could be used as a curtain, physical enough to push it aside in midair. They'd have awkward conversations at meal times; talking of useless things like the weather or anything new the news brought up. The remainder of the time they spent watching movies on the television in the living room or she'd be on her phone with her brother or friend, sometimes her boss.

Now he sat on the couch as _Benny and Joon_ came to an end. Emmeline hit the off button. "I love that movie."

"I don't clearly see why," Jonathan said from where he lay on the opposite end of the couch.

"Johnny Depp is a great actor," she said. "And the story line is classic with a twist that ends in happily ever after."

"Well, in my opinion, Joon was mentally disturbed with an affective disorder which was probably brought on by the death of her parents at a young age and she found herself having to do routine things in order to compensate with every day life. In other words, she was afraid of change until Sam."

"Such an interesting diagnosis coming from the assistant at Arkham and at the police station."

He smiled. "Mental problems are what I work with best. I help people get over and through things."

"Too bad you couldn't help Bruce."

Jonathan turned his head away from the blank screen to Emmeline. She sat at the other end of the couch, legs tucked under her tenderly. "You knew Bruce Wayne?"

She nodded. "We were sort of friends. I used to hang out at his house with Rachel. And since Rachel is my best friend, Bruce ended up being my friend…until his parents died."

He shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair and letting it fall back into place, pieces hanging in his face. "Bruce didn't want help. He was in the revenge state of mind where that would be his only therapy. He was guilting himself into believing everything was his fault and all he had to do was kill the man that murdered his parents and everything would be normal again in his world. But after Falcone's hit killed the man, Bruce had nothing left to do but leave."

"And abandon Rachel?"

"He felt abandoned himself."

"Then where did he go?"

"To find himself. Many people leave without notice to find themselves somewhere else."

"Will he come back?"

"Eventually."

"How long?"

Jonathan shrugged. "I'm not sure. Could be months or years."

Emmeline nodded. "I wouldn't want to be Bruce when he does come back. Rachel won't be happy and neither will I."

Jonathan stared at her as she sat there at the other end of the leather couch, biting her lower lip as she stared at the floor, clearly thinking of Bruce and Rachel. He had to do something to clear the girl's mind of the memories that racked her into a depression. He cleared his throat and sat up. "Come on," he said as he got to his feet and held his hand out to Emmeline.

She frowned up at him but put her hand in his.

"Get your shoes on and grab a jacket. It's a little cold outside."

Emmeline frowned as she followed Jonathan into his large bedroom where he put a jacket on over his plain blue shirt. "And where are we going?"

"For a walk," he told her, adjusting his glasses.

"Why?"

"I think the right medication for you right now is fresh air and I haven't seen the light of day in nearly a week. A little walk won't hurt us, the park over here is perfectly safe at night."

Emmeline shook her head but went to her room and slid her shoes on. She met Jonathan in the living and zipped up her jacket as he grabbed his keys off the table. He beckoned to her. "Come on."

She had no choice but to follow.

Jonathan was more than happy to finally be out of the confides of his house. Grant it, it was a great place to live, but being trapped there, bedridden for days on end was more than he could bear of his home. The fresh night air felt good. He'd never really noticed it before, but now he could.

The two of them walked side by side through the park, following the little cement path as they went. Joggers and families passed them by as they walked, giving courtesy smiles as they did so.

"Wow, people aren't this friendly in my part of town," Emmeline said as yet another stranger smiled and greeted her.

"You've never been to this park?" Jonathan asked her.

"I've never been to this part of town, period," she snorted. "But I prefer it up here to down there any day. I almost feel like Cinderella and I'm dreading midnight."

He smiled at that. "It's not close to midnight."

"It's a metaphor for the day I get to go back home. In three more days," she said. The look in her eyes alone was enough to tell Jonathan how she truly felt. It was now or never, he felt.

With his heart in his throat he moved his hand to hers, entwining their fingers together. He saw Emmy look down at their hands, but instead of pulling away she smiled and even blushed.

"You don't have to go home in three days if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you. I actually enjoy having the company and a companion to talk to. It gets dull living in that place with no one else to hold meaningless but purposeful conversations with. Especially with the way I tend to drabble on."

Emmy chuckled. "I enjoy it when you drabble with your big terms, technical dramatization, and sarcasm that most people can't understand. I like that about you. You're intelligent, you're sweet, you're sarcastic in a secretive way, you have this smile I can't help but love and you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen," she told him and her eyes met his.

He felt rendered speechless for the first time ever. This had never happened to him before, but somehow she knocked the words from him. They kept walking, still holding hands as they came to towards the lake.

Emmeline blushed deeper. "I can't believe I just said that."

"But that's what I like about you," he told her, finding his voice again though he wasn't sure where the words were coming from. "You aren't afraid to say what you think. You're a determined person, you're strong, you're obviously caring, and you're beautiful. Possibly the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said to her softly.

She smiled and turned away from his eyes, looking past him at the lake. "Speaking of beautiful," she pointed with her other hand.

Jonathan turned to look at the lake. The water was rippling slightly while the full moons beams danced off them, making a mirror reflection of the sky that sparkled above it. It was the perfect night for walking, but for Jonathan, it was the perfect night for remembering.

"We should be getting back," Emmeline cleared her throat, staring at the floor, clearly nervous. He could feel the perspiration beginning to form on her palm as he held it. She began to walk away.

Jonathan felt a new wave of courage take over him. He had nothing to lose either way. If this didn't work, she'd be leaving out his door in three days, but if it did…he only had everything to gain from his bold move.

"Wait a moment," Jonathan said, pulling her back by her hand to the tree he was standing by near the lake. He looked around with a slow smile.

"What is it?" she asked and looked around. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I remember now," he nodded his head and removed his glasses, tucking them into the pocket of his jacket as he looked at the lake.

"Remember what?" she frowned at him.

His blue eyes met hers and he smiled then tapped a finger against his lips as if thinking of something significant. "Yes. It's coming back to me…this is the place we had our first kiss."

She chuckled nervously and he took that as a good sign since her hand hadn't moved from his. "Very funny."

"I'm positive it was."

"Yeah, then how'd it go?" challenging him was even a greater sign than he could have hoped for. She was daring him to do it, testing him.

"Well correct me if I'm wrong," he told her. "But I believe we were out for a walk and we paused right at this point to observe the view and I turned my head towards you and thought you were more beautiful then the view and told you so. I bent my head towards you, like this," he moved his head in closer to her, just inches from her lips and whispered. "And I waited for you to make the last move."

Emmeline smiled and filled in the gap, kissing him softly. Jonathan was overwhelmed with the gentleness of it. It was warm and passionate in a way he never felt before. Her lips were soft and perfect, her kiss even better. He cupped her neck with his hand, his other hand going to her waist and to his delight her hands went around his own neck as it deepened into a more passionate display of what they had been feeling over the last few days.

She broke away, leaning her forehead against his with a smile, she whispered. "That's how it was."

"I told you I was remembering everything," he said as breathless as she was.

"Now I know not to second guess you when you remember," she said with a smile and slid her hand back into his. "We should go home now though."

"And do what?"

"How about another movie?"

He shrugged. "Sounds good to me…so will you be leaving at the end of the week?"

"Hmm," she smiled. "I think you can convince me otherwise if you truly want me to stay."

"How would I do that?"  
"Making me an ice cream sundae sounds like a great start."

He laughed and pulled her closer. "I think I can manage that."

"Maybe a foot massage. My feet hurt from catering to you all week."

"Anything else?" he snorted.

"That's it for now. I'll make a list later."

Jonathan shook his head but still smiled. This was the best he had felt in a long time and it could only get better.


	7. Better Plans

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. You guys seriously give me hope for the book I'm desperately trying to get published. If this fanfic can do well, maybe my book can too because I honestly wrote this Emmy/Jonathan story out of boredom. I never thought it'd do this well. But thanks. I wasn't going to post a new chapter until Friday before I went to work, but since I'm getting so many reviews I thought I'd give it to you early. Here's a new chapter to enjoy.** **

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**CHAPTER SEVEN – Better Plans**

That one week turned into two weeks which progressed into a third and forth until finally Emmeline moved more of her things in and gave her landlord his two weeks notice as she decided to move in with Jonathan. He persuaded her to do so, feeling there was no reason for her to keep paying rent for a place she hardly ever saw. He gave her a copy of his house key so that she could move the rest of her things in while he was at work.

That's where Emmeline was now; packing up her things with the help of Rachel, her brother, and surprisingly Alfred. Rachel had invited him to come help, seeing no reason for him to spend his days in that lonely mansion. Emmy had protested it at first but Rachel had insisted that it would only help Alfred. In the end, she won like any good D.A would.

Russ wrote in black marker, marking the box CLOTHES and setting it on top of another box of clothes. "Emmy, how much clothes do you have?"

"Enough to last me weeks without doing laundry."

Russ shook his head. "You're as bad as Bridget." He set up another box and opened her dresser drawer. With a quick glance inside he shut it and blinked, pointing at the drawer. "I'm not doing this drawer. You can deal with your own underwear. I'm afraid I won't find just granny panties in there."

Emmy laughed. "I'll work on that later."

Russ opened the next drawer and slammed it shut again. "Jesus, Emmy, are your pajamas as bad as your under garments?"

"Pretty much," she nodded, knowing he had seen al the silky things she bought at Victoria's Secret over the years.

Before she could warn him he opened the next drawer with the same reaction. Russ ran a hand over his face and shook his head looking over at her.

"Those were my work clothes," she told him, knowing he saw the small tops, short shorts, and fishnets that would have made him keel over had he been ten years older.

"I'm glad you don't work there," he said. "I think I'll just duct tape it shut and have the movers put it in the truck the way it is."

"You quit the Treasure Chest?" Rachel asked her as she sealed a box shut and wrote BATH PRODUCTS on it.

Emmy nodded. "Yeah. Jonathan talked me out of working there. I felt it was way past my time anyway. Louie was a little upset, said he'd miss me, but that Falcone would miss me more."

"That retched man," Alfred snorted with a shake of his head. "It's no surprise he'd go into a place and strip the dignity from the young girls there. But at least you're free of him, my dear. Good riddance to him and hope for happier times ahead."

"There will be," she said. "Jonathan is doing his best to get me a job down at the court house and in the police station as their new criminalist."

"Really?" Russ asked with interest. He opened the front door as a knock came across it and the movers stood there. He beckoned them in and pointed to all the boxes, designating which went to her new home and which went to charity. "It's about time."

"He barely started working two weeks ago and he's still only an assistant at Arkham and he just became one of the trial psychiatrist for Gotham's court house. He's doing what he can."

"If he's a good guy he'll get you in," Russ said and duct taped her dresser shut as he said he would, leaving it for her to sort out later.

Emmy let out a loud sigh and plopped onto her stripped bed. "Leave him alone, Russ, you don't know him."

"Exactly, none of us know him."

"I know him a little," Rachel said, trying to help Emmy out.

"Working with him doesn't count," he pointed out to Rachel. "The point is we don't know this guy at all and now you're moving in."

"I can't win with you, Russ," she shook her head.

"What's next? Are you going to marry him?"

"Stop it, Russell," she exasperated and sat up. "How about you come over for dinner tonight?"

"Don't you need to ask your boyfriend?" he mocked.

"He'll be fine with it. Come over for dinner tonight and meet him, that way you can stop bugging me about him," she turned her head to Rachel. "You too, Rach. Come over for dinner."

"What time?" she asked and sat on the couch that was going to charity or the dump yard, whichever seemed fit.

"How's seven?"

"Sounds good to me," Rachel nodded and looked past Emmy at Russell. "How about you, Russ? Can you make it?"

His eyes shifted around the room as he blinked a few times. Emmy smiled, loving the fact she had trapped her brother since he hadn't been ready for that move. "Yeah," he scratched his ear nervously, cracking the knuckles of his other hand. "I can make it. Not sure if Bridget can make it. She's feeling sick right now, but I will be there."

"How about you Alfred?" Emmy asked the older butler. "Would you like to come over for dinner?"

"Oh, that's quite all right," he waved his hand. "I don't want to be a burden on you young people."

"You're never a burden, Alfred," Rachel told him.

"I want you to come to dinner," Emmy insisted. "You've been stuck in that house by yourself for over a year. Come over for dinner. I'll give you directions."

"I don't know," he shook his head.

"Alfred," she said strictly, tilting her head at him.

He let out a sigh and rubbed his chin. "Very well, if you insist on it I'll be there at seven."

"Good. Jonathan gets home at 4:30 today. So I have plenty of time to unpack all this stuff and get dressed and order the food."

"Order?" Russ teased her.

"I don't feel like cooking. Ordering Chinese is just as good."

"And safer," Russ joked.

"Har, har," Emmeline laughed sarcastically at her brother. "At least Jonathan likes my cooking."

"Glad someone does," he countered back and ducked as she threw a shoe at him. It continued on in that manner until the place was nearly empty and everyone went their own ways.

The boxes were all put into the truck and ready to be taken to her new place. Russell had to go back to work and finish up paper work before checking up on Bridget to see if she was feeling well and Alfred decided he was going to go home and nap before dinner, but both promised to be there. Only Rachel decided to go back with her to her new place.

"You'll love it," Emmeline said as she went down the stairs with Rachel, explaining the apartment. "It's huge. There's even a pool in the lobby area and it's clean."

"You don't see those around here," Rachel said as they reached the lobby of their apartment building.

"Tell me about it. I'm gonna love leaving this place."

"And here I thought it was just a rumor," Falcone said from where he was leaning against the wall with two of his boys.

"Falcone," Emmeline said as her smile fell, even Rachel took a step back out of reaction. "We seriously have to stop running into each other like this."

"The way it looks, I won't be running into you much anymore," he pushed off with his foot and strolled to her, his thugs not far behind. "Louie tells me you quit."

"He told you right."

"Why you quit?"

She shook her head. "Last time I checked, Falcone, you weren't my boss anymore."

He smiled. "No need for the nails. I just asked a question."

"I quit because I found something better," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Rachel and I should be going."

"Something or someone?"

She froze and turned around. He was still smiling at her. "See, I know everything about everyone in this town. Just like I know Rachel is the A.D.A now and thinks I did something to the Wayne kid, but I didn't. haven't seen him since he took off that night from my bar. Just like I know that you, Emmy, found that blue eyed little psychiatrist and fell in love."

Her eyes narrowed. She knew Falcone too well to know he wouldn't have mentioned it if he didn't have something in mind. "Don't you dare do anything to fuck this up for me Falcone," she spoke low and threatening, body tense with her anger.

"Easy, Emmy," he said and held his hands up innocently. "I have no interest in him or you. I just wanted to wish you luck. You deserve a break for now. Consider it a going away present since you don't work at the Treasure Chest anymore."

Emmy nodded her head and turned to leave.

"Good luck with your new job. I'll be seeing you there."

"I don't doubt it," she said over her shoulder as she ushered Rachel out. The two got into the truck and gave the driver directions to her new place and her new life that hopefully would never include Falcone again.

Back at the hotel, Falcone still smiled to himself. One of his guys was a little uneasy. "You just let her go like that, boss?"

"For now, yeah. Let her get her life started before I knock it down again. It's no fun to destroy 'em when they got nothin' to destroy. You gotta wait till they're at their peak, then you take 'em out. Besides, she'll be workin' at the station and courthouse, she'll be as useful to me as her new little boyfriend. They'll all be key pawns in my game…they just don't know it yet." Falcone continued smiling as he left the building and got into his car, already planning out how he'd get the new couple into his schemes.

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**A/N: Next chapter is more about Emmy/Jonathan and Jonathan meets Rachel for the first time not to mention Alfred and Russ.**


	8. Brighter Days

**A/N: This chapter is somewhat boring. It's a lot of conversation and things are going to start picking up after a few more chapters. We'll start getting into the movie-verse and what went on during the actual time Bruce came back and Crane became…well the Crane we all know and love. So enjoy this, I might get a new one out by Wednesday because I work and don't have a day off till Saturday. But you will get a new chapter soon. Enjoy and R&R**

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**CHAPTER EIGHT – Brighter Days**

"At least you're away from that," Rachel said as she plopped down on the couch, referring to Falcone. The two had finished unpacking in Emmeline's room. Rachel had found it odd that the two were a couple but Emmy had her own room and bed away from Jonathan. Emmy argued that all her stuff just wouldn't fit in Jonathan's room and she didn't want to take over his room, which was reasonable enough.

"Let's not talk about Falcone. It's my past now. This is my future," she said, gesturing at the expanse of the apartment with a wide smile that reached her eyes. She had never been this happy in her life, least not since her mom died.

"You weren't kidding when you said this place was huge,' Rachel snorted, craning her neck to look around. "I never thought he lived this well."

"It shocked me, too, but I've grown used to it," Emmy sat down on the couch next to her friend.

"Makes me wish I would have found him first."

Emmy nudged her. "He's not your type. He's not a good looking, mysterious billionaire."

Rachel's smile faltered a little and Emmy regretted it. "I'm sorry, Rach. My foot has the tendency to reach my mouth sometimes."

"It's okay," she brushed it off with a hand and bit at her nails slightly. "He left me not the other way around."

"He'll be back when he finds himself."

"Finds himself?"

"Yeah. Jonathan explained it to me a few weeks ago. He said Bruce left to find himself because his revenge had been done by someone else and he had no other way of fixing it but to leave. He'll be back someday."

"Just wish I knew when," she sighed.

"Someday and things will get better for all of us."

"I hope so…"

Emmy heard the key in the door first and turned just as Jonathan came in, shutting the door behind him. He flung his coat into the closet and set his briefcase down on the counter, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and loosening his tie with the other. "What a day," he sighed. "Things can't get much crazier than they are."

He paused and tilted his head, seeing Rachel for the first time on the couch. "You brought a friend home. Is she one of your pets that you had at your apartment," he teased with a smile. "I'd love to see the box you brought her home in."

Emmy laughed and even Rachel smiled at his humor. "Close enough. Jonathan this is my friend I've been telling you about, Rachel Dawes."

Rachel moved to stand up but Jonathan stopped her. "No, don't get up. You two look like you've had one hell of a day and something tells me you two just sat down," he walked over and out stretched his hand to hers. "I'm Jonathan Crane."

"I know," she said. "I've seen you down at the court house."

He frowned for a minute, still holding her hand. She noticed his hands were cool and his nails were clean. "Dawes…you're the A.D.A. down there. Mr. Finch is your boss."

"Yes. That would be Carl. And you're the assistant director down at Arkham and one of the trial psychiatrist."

"That would be me. Well it's a pleasure to meet you," he let go of her hand. "I'm glad Emmeline brought you here. She speaks of you often enough. I was beginning to wonder who you were."

"Speaking of which," Emmy butt in, seeing no other moment better to do so. "My brother's coming over for dinner at seven and so is my old friend Alfred."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I better shower then and put something else on. If you two will excuse me," he began to walk away but back tracked and Emmy wondered why. He pursued his lips at her and rubbed at his chin. "Just one question."

"What's that, hon?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Please tell me you're ordering in because you cooking wouldn't make the best first impressions on your brother and it wouldn't be good for the neighbors to be bothered with the fire department."

She gasped at him with a smile just as one crept across his face. She threw a pillow at him and he caught it, putting it back on the couch as he back tracked to his bedroom. "I'll take that as a yes."

He bolted into the room before she could throw anything else at him.

"He can be such a punk," she laughed.

"I like him," Rachel said, still looking at the door he had went through. "He's a nice guy. I never would have guessed he had a sense of humor either. He's so serious at work."

"I only see the charming side of Jonathan at home. He's never too serious or shy around me. We have no secrets."

"You were wrong about one thing though," Rachel sighed.

"What's that?"

"He may not be a billionaire, but he is good looking."

Emmy laughed and hit her friend with a pillow. The two sat on the couch without a care in the world, talking and laughing, never knowing what awaited them in the future.

Emmeline had ordered the Chinese food while Jonathan was getting changed. Rachel helped her set the table and they pushed the curtains back to see the incredible view that lay just outside the glass. Rachel stood with her and admired it before excusing herself to thw bathroom to clean up. Emmeline let her use her bedroom and let her borrow some clothes to change into.

The city was completely lit up down below and the view stretched over Gotham. Wayne Tower could be seen along with the water front and the Narrows. From where she stood she could make out the Arkham Asylum that was lit up to the left.

Jonathan put an arm around her and pulled her away from the window. "Let's not think of work right now. It's the last thing on my mind."

Emmy walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine and a few glasses. She popped the cork and poured him a glass, handing it back over to him.

"Bad day?" she asked, unable to stop herself from looking him over. He had his silver glasses off and was wearing a long sleeved blue dress shirt that harmonized his eyes and made them come alive more in the breathtaking color.

He let out a noisy sigh. "You can say that. With our funding being cut, we had to fire a few people, which never helps considering we get at least three new patients in a week. The only good thing that can come of it is that I'll be in charge soon."

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

He took a sip, nodding his head. "In a year at the most."

"Jonathan, that's great," she exclaimed, visibly excited for him. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. "You've always wanted that, so it's a good thing."

"Yes, but I have more news on good things," he said with a smile, looking into her eyes.

"What's that?"

"You should be getting a call tomorrow to come in and fill out paperwork for your new job."

Emmeline blinked and pulled back a little in shock. Jonathan only smiled, he wasn't joking. "Oh my God…are you serious?"

"No, I'm Jonathan, but I'm being serious," he teased her.

"Okay," she took a deep breath. "I'm overly excited, but I am not going to act like a 10th grade school girl by making a scene. I'm going to remain perfectly calm."

"No you won't," he shook his head and kissed her cheek.

"Yes I will."

Her bedroom door opened and Rachel came out, tucking in the burgundy shirt she borrowed from Emmeline. Jonathan waited for it, counting down in his head as he sipped at the champagne in his glass.

"Rachel," Emmy smiled and then as expected she squealed like a 10th grade school girl. "I got the job at the court!"

Rachel met her with the same enthusiasm as the two friends hugged and talked in high-pitched voices of excitement.

"Just as I thought," Jonathan mumbled to himself with a slow smile as he admired his girlfriend from across the room. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Even while wearing a simple shirt and jeans with her dark hair up in twist and hardly any make-up, he found her to be stunning. In that moment he decided he'd do anything for her, anything at all, including marry her. And the way he felt, that would be in the near future.

Jonathan moved to answer the door, setting his glass down on the counter. It was the food. He paid the delivery man and set the bags on the table.

"I got it," Emmeline told him, batting him away.

"Can you manage to do it without causing a disaster?" he teased her.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes as Rachel helped her moved the cartons to the dining room table. "Sheesh, I burn a cake once and you ream me for it forever."

"Well, I wouldn't keep doing it if you didn't burn the cookies last week," he reminded her.

She pointed a finger at him. "That was your fault, you sidetracked me."

He shrugged modestly at the memory of it. They had made it as far as the couch and forgot about the cookies until they smelt the smoke. It was too late for the cookies by that time. They were beyond repair and way beyond edible.

Another knock sounded at the door. "I got it," Jonathan told her and opened the door. Two men stood there. One of middle age with dark brown hair and blue eyes looking similar to Emmeline and the other an older man with white hair and slight wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead. Jonathan recognized neither which meant they had to be Emmeline's guests.

"Hello, come right in," Jonathan stepped aside, holding the door open and letting the two men enter into his home that he now shared with Emmeline.

"Good evening," the older man nodded at him with a warm smile and English accent. The other just bore holes into him with his lips in a tight line. Definitely her brother, he assessed from the looks and surliness.

"I'm Alfred, a friend of Ms. Pierce's," the older gentleman said extending his hand to him.

Jonathan shook it. "Jonathan Crane, Ms. Pierce's boyfriend. May I get you a drink?"

"Sure," he nodded as he turned into the kitchen with Jonathan. Jonathan poured him a glass of champagne and handed it to him. Alfred took it with a thanking nod and looked over at Emmeline with a fatherly grin. "Never thought I'd see the day," he sighed.

"See what day?" he asked. He noticed her brother was all smiles and grins now. As long as he wasn't around her brother appeared to be happy. Overprotective due to childhood, Jonathan noted mentally.

Alfred looked back at him. "See the day she'd be so happy. In all my years of knowing Ms. Pierce, I've never seen her smile so. None of the other chaps she's dated in the past have affected her this way. Only you have, Mr. Crane."

Jonathan blinked at the comment, not entirely sure of what to say. "I'll make sure it stays that way."

"You best. Or her brother won't be too happy."

"I can see how much he likes me already," Jonathan said sardonically as he made his way to the table where everything was all set up. He took a seat next to Emmeline while her brother sat across from him next to Rachel and Alfred took the head of the table.

They ate making mild discussion about the days events. Whenever Jonathan tried to make conversation with Russell, as he later found out her brother's name with no formal introduction on his behalf, the man only grumbled or stared off somewhere else to let Jonathan clearly know he had no interest in what he was saying.

"So how's Bridget?" Emmeline asked her brother while Jonathan pushed his food around his plate. He'd become full a few bites ago, but had no desire to leave the table and give her brother that satisfaction. Instead he sat his ground and watched Russ with attentive eyes.

Russ took a careful sip from his glass, peeking Jonathan's interest. If the man wouldn't talk to him then Jonathan would just read him as he did his patients at work. "She's feeling better. Her stomach's been bothering her, but she's feeling better. She was sorry she couldn't make it," his eyes shifted down to his lap, "she just didn't feel well."

"Tell her I'm sorry she did. Maybe next time she can come by and see our place and meet Jonathan."

Russell's eyes shifted to him as he pushed his plate away, blinking his eyes a few times fast. "Yeah, Jonathan."

Jonathan was dreading this part. Now conversation would be aimed at him and judging by the tone, it was going to be unpleasant and probably painful. He felt everyone tense at the table around him as Russell focused his attention onto Jonathan meeting his eyes. Jonathan never blinked, staring was his specialty. As a psychiatrist patients tried to stare him down, trying to get him to shift, to feel uncomfortable so they could gain their leverage and control over the situation. With plenty of practice at Arkham, Jonathan learned never to blink, never to falter, he learned how to stare just as cold as he was given.

Russ folded his arms across his chest, rubbing a finger against his sleeve. Jonathan made yet another note on him, waiting to piece it all together later.

"You're a psychiatrist I hear, huh?" Russ said with an inquiring tone that was challenging. "You work up in the Narrows at that crazy place?"

"Russ," Emmy hissed at her brother, running a hand through her hair in frustration. He noticed she did that when she became flustered.

Jonathan gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right. Many people question me about my job and many people find it repulsive to work in a place like Arkham. Yes, Mr. Pierce, I work there and I enjoy my job."

"You enjoy digging into people's minds."

"I don't dig in anyone's mind. People tell me only what they want to and I find a way to get them comfortable enough to tell me more. Even if they don't speak it, I use their body language to tell me the rest."

"Is that with the sane people? What do you do to the crazies?" he asked, his hands moved to the table, briefly touching his chest, rubbing at a spot under his shirt. "You use them in shock therapy? Strap them done? That sort of thing?"

"Russell," this time coming from Rachel.

Jonathan smiled reverentially at the accusations. "Yes, the people dubbed insane get treated differently from the ones who function with society. But none of them are ever harmed. The sedatives they are given when they act out are completely harmless and only calm them. The others are given regular therapy, which I also do to try to get to the bottom of their problems and make them their past, whether they speak it or I read it."

Russell snorted and blinked twice. "Therapy is a joke. You can't read anybody." He picked up his glass and took a small sip while cracking his knuckles.

Jonathan watched with interest at his little habits, piecing everything he noted together in his mind before deciding on what to say. "You flex your hands and crack your knuckles a lot, I take it you're a mechanic or a carpenter?" Jonathan guessed and Russell blinked.

"A mechanic…yeah. But I bet Emmeline told you that."

Emmeline shook her head. "Actually, no I didn't. I didn't really tell him anything about you. That was all Jonathan guessing."

Russell frowned at him, rubbing at his finger. "You know so much, then tell me more."

Jonathan shrugged at the challenge. "Very well. You double blink when you get nervous, which tells me you had a drug problem in the past. You sip slowly at any alcoholic beverage. You must have been an alcoholic at one point in your life. And you rub at your ring finger meaning you aren't wearing your wedding band, but wish you were since you really can't wear one at work. I'm betting you wear it around your neck on a chain. And every time you mention your wife and her sickness you look down at your lap and you pause. She's pregnant."

Russell's mouth was a gap when Jonathan finished. He reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a necklace, hanging off the end of it was a gold band. "How did you know all that? I never even told Emmy Bridget was pregnant."

"She's pregnant!" Emmy exclaimed dropping her fork onto her plate. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We were waiting for the right time."

"When would that have been? When she had the baby?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, cracking his knuckles.

"I'm gonna be an aunt and you didn't tell me."

"You didn't even tell me," Rachel said, hitting his shoulder.

"Well…now you know."

"Only because Jonathan got you to say it," Emmy told him.

"Who cares? Now you know," Russ argued and looked back at Jonathan in awe. "Seriously, how did you do that?"

"I'm good at what I do. It's why I do it," he said with stern blue eyes. "And I take no offense at your demeaning nature of questions. You're protective of your sister because she's the only girl and she's your only family, and she's the baby. Without her you have no one. I understand that, but hopefully you understand that I love your sister and would never harm her in any way and I would never stop you from seeing her. Maybe now you can trust me with her."

Russell just nodded his head and smiled for the first time getting Emmeline to sigh in relief, along with Alfred and Rachel who he had made uncomfortable as well. "Yeah, I can accept it now."

Jonathan gave him a small nod. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I don't want Emmeline to feel uncomfortable like she has all night."

"I was not uncomfortable," she put up an argument.

Jonathan tilted his head at her. "Honey, you were very uncomfortable and you don't need a degree in psychology to figure that out. Everyone here knew it."

"He's right you know," Alfred nodded. "I knew it and I'm just an old butler."

"Okay," she admitted. "Maybe a little."

"A little?" Rachel repeated.

She rolled her eyes. "Geez, a lot then. What is it? Gang up on Emmy night?"

"No," Russ nodded. "It's 'get along with your extended family' night."

"And 'I should kick your ass for not telling me about Bridget' night."

It was Russell's turn to roll his eyes and let out a groan as he hung his neck over the back of his chair. "Are we going into this again?"

"No, we discussed it enough," she shook her head. "Let's talk of other stuff."

The change of subjects led to different areas of conversation that peeked everyone's interest. From Emmeline's new found job down at the court house to more into Jonathan's career and more into what Rachel had to deal with on a daily basis. Alfred talked of what he did nowadays, which consisted of much golfing and keeping the house straightened right in case its owner returned one morning. That caused Rachel to turn away from the topic as it briefly touched Bruce. Jonathan caught her discomfort and switched the tables to lighter issues on what her and Emmeline used to do since they'd known each other so long.

It went on like that for another hour before Alfred felt it was getting to be too late for him and since Russell was his ride over, the two said their good-byes and left, letting Rachel catch a ride with them.

Jonathan shut the door and leaned against it, letting out a drastic sigh. "What a night?"

"At least it matched your day," Emmeline smiled at him.

He moved to her, arms going around her waist. "I'll take your brother any day."

"At least you won him over. That was your biggest challenge right there and you mastered it."

Jonathan pulled back from her, eyes scanning the apartment with a smile.

"What?"

"Nothing. It just feels different now, but in a good way," he brushed the hair from her face. "Because you're here."

"I can't move back into my apartment so I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to suck up to me anymore," she told him and let out a yawn, realizing for the first time how tired she actually was. It had been a long day of packing and unpacking and dealing with her brother and his protection issues. "But I think it's time I go to bed."

She kissed his cheek and moved away from him only to have him grab her hand and guide her towards his room. "Sleep in my room tonight."

She frowned. She had never slept in his room. Sure she'd been in his bed, but she'd always slept in her own room across the hall. "Why?"

He blushed slightly. She found it attractive to see him act so sheepishly when he was always so in control. "Not to…you know…do anything. Not that I don't want to," he said quickly thinking she may be offended by that when, in truth, she was more fascinated by him. "Because I do want to, but just not tonight. I just want it to be the two of us, just together."

She nodded her head with a slow smile. "Yeah, I like that."

"Really?" he acted surprised to hear her say that, expecting a rejection.

"Sure," she said and followed him into his room where, for the first time, she fell asleep in his arms, but more importantly, without a care in the world.

* * *


	9. Surprised Proposal

A/N: Yay…I figured out what to write cuz I was stuck and I think this is pretty good build up to the crashing point. Enjoy this chapter of happy go lucky days…because they'll end soon.

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE – Surprised Proposal**

Moving in had been the easy part for the young couple. A year flowed by smoothly, but as it got closer and closer to their twelfth month, things took a crooked turn. It was getting used to balancing time that made things more difficult as time progressed. Jonathan thought he had it all figured out, that it was a simple mental equation he had perfectly solved and ad equated. The two of them could live together and be a couple with fun loving jokes and walks in the park and conversations at dinner.

What he didn't add in to the equation he created was the fact that Emmeline now had a job down at the station as a criminalist detective, meaning she could do either job, but was particularly good at both which made it difficult for her to be home at a given time. That wasn't so much the problem as the fact that his own job now required him to work late hours since new patients were sent every week and he was the assistant director.

If that wasn't bad enough, one of the new young nurses, Olivia, was giving him a hard time with her sly smiles and clumsy ways that led her to drop something every time he was walking down the hall or to brush up against him to grab something. The picture of Emmeline on his desk wasn't a large enough clue for her that he wasn't interested and neither was the eight rejection he had given her when she asked him to dinner with a toss of her blonde hair.

If Emmeline knew, this would be a huge problem, but every time he came home, she wasn't there or she was already sound asleep in their bed. He'd sigh and strip down to his boxers and undershirt, crawling in besides her to give her a kiss on the cheek she never responded much to from being wiped out at work. That was another thing about their busy schedules, it put a damp in their love life. Instead of their "busy" schedule of daily meetings, it was monthly meetings, which was when at least one of them had a day off and the other got home before eight or nine. Jonathan missed those spontaneous days. He had "remembered" their sex life a month into the relationship. The memory had "suddenly returned' as Emmeline had said afterwards as she had laid laughing besides him. Now he "remembered" how they drifted apart: work.

The only people it seemed he ever saw were the patients and, regretfully, Olivia who made herself present whenever he was working. He never got to see Emmeline much anymore. But at least he saw her that morning before heading off to work.

He was coming out of the bathroom after fixing his hair and brushing his teeth just as she was getting up, a plan heavily formed in his mind on how to fix things once and for all.

"Hey honey," Emmeline yawned and stretched, her shirt rising to expose her flat tummy. She stood up and ran her fingers through her knotty hair. He loved her bed head look in the mornings. "I didn't hear you get in last night."

"It was a very long night," he said, buttoning up his dress shirt.

"I hear you. They've been running me raw at work on this murder case, even though all the evidence points to George Stanley, he'll get off with murder in the first degree."

"Why?" Jonathan frowned, looking t her through the reflection in the mirror.

"He's going for the insanity plea. One of Falcone's boys."

Jonathan rolled his eyes as he straightened his tie. "It's a wate of valuable time and space. It means a new adverse patient down at the asylum. I'll schedule to have him moved somewhere else. In fact, I'll call the judge and personally ask to evaluate him myself."

"I don't know if that'll work. They might call it conflict of interest since I'm on this case and I'm your girlfriend."

"Remove yourself from it," he shrugged.

Her mouth fell a gap. "Baby, I can't just remove myself from the case without reason."

Jonathan licked his lips in a quick motion, eyes cast aside in thought. "What did this man do?"

"Murdered his wife, stabbed her forty times with a kitchen knife after watching the game on TV while she was asleep."

"Tell them you can't handle the details of the case."

"I've been handling it fine for a week."

"Then I can't help you. I'm only allowed on cases you aren't dealing with," he said somewhat angrily as he buttoned his jacket and picked up his briefcase.

"I'm sorry, Jonathan. There'll be another way. Rachel can pin the jury on finding him guilty."

"I hope so," he sighed and rubbed at his eyes. "I'll see you after work."

"You're going in so early."

"I have a stop to make before I go in," he said and walked back to her, giving her a passion filled kiss. One they hadn't shared in weeks. He parted from her, leaving her breathless and wide eyed. "Can you be home by six?"

"Sure," she nodded, still breathing heavily. "I'll tell them I have to be out, they owe me that much."

"Good," he smiled and adjusted his glasses. "I'll be here by then. I have a surprise for you." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and was out the door.

* * *

"A surprise, huh?" Rachel asked after Emmeline finished repeating to her what Jonathan had said early that morning. The two girls were sitting by the waterfront at Captain Bill's, a nice little patio place they regularly went to for lunch where they could enjoy the fresh air and beautiful harbor view.

Emmeline nodded. "Yeah. I have no idea what he's planning though."

"Well you two haven't really been together in months. Sure, you share an apartment but neither of you is in it long enough to make a difference. One of you is never conscious when the other is."

"Work has me running circles," she shrugged. "I have to stay late sometimes and by the time I get home he's asleep or vice versa."

"How did you two manage to stay together for a year with this schedule?" Rachel shook her head in wonder.

"It wasn't so hard when I first started working, but then they saw I was good at what I did and they piled me in over my head. I haven't had a day off in three months. I've been working seven days a week, fifteen hours a day. And there have been days when Jonathan just stayed at work since they had the habit of calling him in with a problem in the middle of the night and it's a forty-minute drive. It worries me," she said, biting on her thumbnail.

"This would have nothing to do with Olivia now would it?" Rachel asked with a slight tilt of her head.

Emmeline rolled her eyes, spitting out a piece of her nail. "That tramp. I'm not worried about her. Jonathan would never do anything with her. He's better than that. It's just that he's always at work."

"And so are you," Rachel added to emphasize her point.

"I know. I know," she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "It's just hard to see him. I miss him a lot."

"Do I hear correctly?" a voice said behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Harvey making his way to them, only a foot or two away, wearing a black business suit just as he pulled up a chair next to the two girls. He was the youngest lawyer ever to become a big success. At the young age of twenty-six, only two years older than the two, he was a wealthy man with a set future that looked brighter by the day. "Detective Pierce is on a relationship case that she can't solve? Who knew it was possible to stump the young detective?"

"Hey Harvey," Rachel smiled a greeting.

"How you doing, Dawny?" he asked, using the pet name he had for her and flashing her that million dollar smile.

"I'm doing great," she smiled back and Emmy swore she even blushed a little. She had to admit, Harvey was one of the most handsome men in Gotham with his model face. High cheekbones, strong square jaw line, straight nose and flawless skin. He made all the girl's pant, but she was a one woman guy and her and Harvey were strictly friends. All three of them were. Harvey had even gone to school with Bruce Wayne and had become good friends before he up and disappeared two years ago. "It's Emmeline here who has the problem."

"I don't have a problem," she shook her head.

"You've been talking about how you and Jonathan never get to see each other because one of you is always at work and he stays overnight at the asylum sometimes which worries you."

"Overnight? Who could stay overnight at a place like that," Harvey faked a shiver. "I mean with all those crazy people moaning and screaming and the smell and the…" his eyes brightened and his mouth formed an O. "The nurses…especially Olivia, that hot blonde one…yeah I can see why he stays down there."

Emmy rolled her eyes. "He's not cheating on me with the tramp."

"But she's a thirty-six, twenty-eight, thirty-two. In other words, curved in all the right places," he grinned. "And I'll bet she loves the good ol' doctor. He's young, successful, and good-looking. Why wouldn't she want him?"

"Why don't you take her?"

"Had her," he shrugged easily.

"Harvey!" Rachel exclaimed, choking on the soda she had been drinking.

He patted her on the back. "What? I'm young and I'm a guy. I can have as many girls as I please for the time being. I dated Olivia for a month. She's a wild one in the bedroom."

"Louie was right," Emmy snorted. "You are two faced."

"I am **_not_** two faced," he argued.

"Yeah right. You sweet talk a woman off her feet then dump her once you've bed her and head over to the Treasure Chest to get your kicks."

"Olivia knew what she was getting in to, so I'm not two faced."

"Then why'd you leave her?" Rachel asked, dumbfounded by him.

"Easy. Two words. Playboy Bunny."

Both of them tisked and rolled their eyes.

"What? They were doing a shoot down here. One twisted their ankle and sued and I was her lawyer."

"She sure did thank you for winning the case now didn't she?"

"She didn't win the case. Turns out she signed a contract that said she wouldn't sue in case injury did occur. But I made her forget she lost," he said with a big grin and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Jesus, Harvey. Just because you're a playboy doesn't mean Jonathan is sleeping with Olivia," Emmeline defended her husband and consoled her watch it was five o'clock.

"Whatever you say?" Harvey shrugged. "But I wouldn't let a girl like that get away from me."

"And you didn't," Rachel pointed out.

"That's what separates Jonathan from the rest of you," Emmy told Harvey. "He would let that pass because he loves me. In fact," she stood up. "I'm leaving early. Tell them to finish the case, Rachel. Everything they need is done already and made up for the case. It's in your park now."

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked her as Emmy started walking away.

She spoke over her shoulder. "To surprise Jonathan."

Harvey shook his head as he watched her pull out of the parking lot and head off towards the Narrows. "I just hope Emmy isn't the one getting the surprise."

"Why do you say that? You don't trust Jonathan."

"Oh no, I trust Jonathan," he turned his head to face Rachel, his handsome face serious. "It's Olivia I don't trust. She'll do anything to get what she wants…no matter how much they resist."

Rachel chewed her lower lip, sucking on her soda straw. She hoped to God that Harvey was wrong. For Emmeline's sake, she hoped he was wrong.

* * *

The diamond was set in the white gold band with two smaller diamonds on each side of it, Not too gaudy, Emmy didn't like gaudy, but similar to the one her grandmother had owned and similar to the one that was stolen from her years ago. He hoped she'd like it. He wondered if it was the perfect engagement ring. It was where he had gone to that morning. He dropped by the store and bought the ring, planning to propose to her that night. It was perfect, just like Emmeline. Just like his plan.

"Wow, now that's a pretty ring you got there," a sweet voice said.

He snapped the lid shut and tucked the ring away, trying to hide his agitation as he smiled forcibly at Olivia. "We've been over this, Ms. Carp, please knock before you enter my office."

"Your door was open," she spoke in that same overly sweet tone.

"You still have to knock."

"Who's the ring for?" she asked changing the subject as she trailed her manicured nails over his desk, sashaying closer. He noticed she was wearing a skirt, a white one similar to the others she wore, but this one shorter. It seemed they shrunk an inch each week. No wonder the patients there requested her as their nurse. He couldn't understand why with a woman who thought so low of herself in self esteem that she'd even consider to reduce herself by baring more skin, less confidence to attract the opposite sex.

"My girlfriend," he told her, emphasizing the meaning of it.

She lifted the picture of Emmeline and her face scrunched in disdain, not thinking much of the fact he was taken by her at all. "She's all right…I guess."

He plucked the picture from her hands and set it back on his desk. "She's my girlfriend and I love her so I'd expect that you never make a remark like that about her again."

"I didn't say anything, hon."

"It's what you didn't say that I didn't appreciate," he told her politely though he felt his patience wearing thin as he twirled the pen in his hand.

"Well," she scooted closer, sitting on the edge of his desk closest to him so she blocked out his entire view, leg brushing against his. "I'll say this. I think you can do better. Try something different before you make a commitment like that."

"I don't need to but thank you for the offer," he leaned back in his chair, trying his best to move away from her without being cruel about it.

"I haven't offered anything," she smiled, tossing the hair over her shoulder. "**_Yet_**."

"No, Ms. Carp-"

"Call me Olivia."

"I prefer, Ms. Carp. As I was saying, I have no intention of having a relationship of any kind with you."

"I'm sure I can change your mind," she spoke in a heated whisper and before Jonathan could even stand up or move, she was on him. She slid into his lap and pressed her lips to his. Jonathan managed to grasp her shoulders and pull her away…but now he had full view of his office, including the door where Emmeline stood, hand still on the knob, a look of distraught covering her face.

"Emmeline," he said and looked at Olivia then back at her, knowing what she had to think. "No, it's not what it seems."

She shook her head and left, slamming the door.

Olivia smiled and laughed a little. "Well that went well."

Jonathan lost all his tolerance then. He shoved her off to stand up and she hit the floor on her ass, looking shocked. Before she could speak, he caught in. "I talk, you listen. That woman is the love of my life. I love her in a way no one can ever love you because of the way you act and flaunt and flirt. That's not love you're looking for that's lust. No one can love you because you offer nothing to love. But Emmeline does and she is so much more than you can ever wish to be unless you change your ways and grow up. Consider yourself fired, Olivia, and if I ever see you in here again, I'll file charges. Get out."

She stood to her feet, shocked and teary eyed but Jonathan didn't care. The moment Olivia left his office he was in his car, heading home to save the relationship he yearned for.

* * *

"Emmeline!" he called out as he came through the front door, switching on the lights. The light was on in their room and he hurried, tossing his keys and briefcase on the couch. "Emmy," he called as he entered.

She was packing furiously, throwing things into a suitcase. "My brother was right! You're like everyone else," she said, he could hear the tears in her voice, she was on the verge of crying.

"Emmy, it wasn't what it looked like," he said as he moved towards her.

"Really?" she spun around. "Because it looked like she had her tongue down your throat while she sat in your lap, or was that just my imagination?"

He sighed. "She did kiss me, but I didn't want her to. You walked in right as she did it, you didn't hear what I was saying to her."

She shook her head. "I don't care, Jonathan. Now I know, okay. That's all that matters. I'm going to go stay with Rachel for a while then stay with my brother and be with my niece. Don't call me, don't come see me," she said angrily as she picked up her suitcase and headed for their bedroom door.

"No," he grabbed her am and pulled her back to him. "I won't let you walk away from us. I love you, Emmy."

She shook her head and he saw her face break for a moment but she pushed the grief away. "Give me one reason, Jonathan," she said strictly. "Give me a reason to stay."

He tucked a strand of hair behind he ear and caressed her cheek with his fingers, whispering to her. "I'm safe with you."

She blinked and a small smile spread across her lips, replacing the hurt and anger she had felt. She had said those words to him when he had awakened for a moment in the station, lying there in her lap. "You heard me?"

He nodded. "Yes…I don't love Olivia. She's been after me for months, but I love you. I told her, she never listened. Tonight she thought she could win me over with her force, but I fired her. I wish you had shown up a minute before but you didn't." He licked his lips in a quick gesture and removed his glasses to meet her green eyes. "Emmy, you were the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes in the station and you were the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes at the hospital…and I want you to be the first thing I see every time I open my eyes from now on."

Emmy had tears in her eyes at this point, but they clouded more when he produced a small box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a diamond ring…one that was a direct copy of the one she had stolen years ago. The same type as her mother's that had been passed down to her.

"I remember the last piece of the puzzle," Jonathan told her in a whisper. " I remember how I proposed…will you marry me, Emmy? Be my fiancée? For keeps."

She let out a laugh and covered her mouth with a hand, meeting his glowing blue eyes and nodded. "Yes. Of course I will."

He smiled and slid the ring onto her hand. With the other he pulled her in tighter and smashed his lips to her own, kissing her in a way he never had. Emmeline was laughing and crying at this point. But he had her. She was his now. He kissed her again, knowing nothing could ever break them apart now. They were safe with each other.

* * *

A/N: Warning…it'll be getting darker VERY soon. We'll be getting to the Jonathan Crane we all know from the movie because we're about to hit the movie part of the fanfic where a lot of the scenes and lines will be from the movie. Be warned…the next chapter will get dark. 


	10. Wedding Plans

A/N: Okay, this isn't dark. I thought I was out of ideas but I had another. The next chapter may be dark. But just read and have fun with it. And thank you all for the responses. I never thought it'd do so well! Thanks a bunch! 

CHAPTER TEN – Wedding Plans 

"Married?" Gordon repeated the word for the sixth time, as if he couldn't quite absorb it and repeating it would help the process. Not even the invitation in his hand was enough to get it through. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I knew you would react this way," Emmy told him. She was getting married in a week, a small wedding with only about twenty to thirty people attending. Neither her nor Jonathan had very big families. The only person Jonathan invited was his mother who said she could stop by for the ceremony but then she had to leave. Neither of them were holding their breath that she'd even show up. Just like Emmy knew Chaz wouldn't show up and George was in jail anyway. Russ was her only blood family coming.

They mainly depended on their friends. Harvey had been invited and asked to bring a guest, his date of the week. Rachel was her maid of honor and Carl would be joining her. Alfred, of course, was invited along with Louie. Just a small wedding and Gordon was last on the list because he'd make the biggest fuss about it, giving her the "you're too young" lecture.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure about inviting you," she teased though she knew what he meant by it.

He rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "You know what I'm talking about. Are you sure about getting married?"

"Yes, Gordon, there's no one else I could have imagined other than Jonathan."

He shook his head. "You rescue a guy from the station and suddenly you're marrying him."

"We've been together for a year and a half," she chuckled.

He frowned and rubbed his mustache. "Really? It's been that long? Time really does go by."

"So will you go to the wedding on Saturday?"

He let out a loud exhale, massaging the back of his neck. "Count me in. I'll be there."

She smiled and patted his head. "Thank you, Gordon."

"Don't say I never did anything for you."

She waved as she left his office, heading to her brother's before going home to Jonathan. They'd been engaged six months now and had planned the wedding for a while. Both felt small would be best and easier to do. They saved the money for the honeymoon to Jamaica. They had a special part of the beach set out for honeymooners. All you had to pay was $1500 dollars for both people and it included airfare (there and back), a beautiful suite overlooking the water, and most importantly, all the food you could eat and all the drinks you can take. She doubted she'd be spending much time in the bedroom then she would at the buffet.

"Now there's the engaged girl," a familiar voice said. She froze, halfway to her car and turned to see Falcone standing there in one of his Armani suits.

"Never thought I'd see you this close to a police station without you wearing cuffs," she told him.

"Always goin' for the throat," he said with a grin. "I like that. You always were fierce."

"What do you want, Falcone?" she asked, leaning against her car.

"Just to wish you luck with your wedding."

"You're not planning on crashing it now are you? Because I have half the police force attending and that would just make you look bad. I know how much you love your image."

"I don't do weddings. I'm more the funeral type of guy," he said with a grin and she knew he wasn't joking. She knew what he was capable of.

"Look, Falcone. Whatever you got, I'm not interested in. You've tried to buy me time and time again and time and time again I tell you to fuck off."

"It's your words that keep me comin' back," he told her. "What guy could resist your primal instinct? Certainly not young Dr. Crane."

"I warned you about this," she spoke through gritted teeth, coming to his defense at the mere sound of his name from Falcone. Once he knew a name of someone you cared about, it became an instant threat.

"I'm not going to harm your soon to be husband at all. I promise you that. I won't touch a hair on his head and neither will any of my guys."

"Good," she nodded, giving him that much trust. "I gotta go though. Thank you for your wishes, Falcone," she opened her car door and got in. "Now leave me be."

She took off in her car, not even looking back in the review mirror. She didn't want to think of Falcone, she just wanted him as far out of her life as she could get him. The honeymoon was sounding better and better by the moment.

Emmy walked up the front porch of her brother's cozy little home. She could tell it had just been repainted. The white paint was as fresh as the blue outlining. Not a bad job on Russ's behalf. Bridget got him to do something besides work on cars all day.

She knocked on the front door and Bridget answered. Her gold blonde hair was tied up into a rubber band, falling behind her in waves. For wearing no make-up she was a beautiful woman so with make-up would have made her even more dazzling. It was a mystery as to how her brother won her over with his wrinkled - mostly oil stained - shirts and uncut look. But none of it mattered as Bridget radiated with her five-month pregnant belly and the nearly two year old boy at her feet. She opened the screen door and gave her a bright smile. "Hey Emmy."

"Hi Bridge. Hi Leo," she smiled at her nephew, the spitting image of her brother from the unruly brown mop of hair and the bright blue eyes.

"Auntie Emmy," he said, arms outspread. Emmy bent and scooped her up, pelting him with kisses. He giggled in a high pitch until Emmy set him down. "Where's Uncle Johnny?"

"Out with Aunt Rachel," she told him. "They're out buying stuff."

"Stuff for me?" he asked with a smile that revealed missing teeth.

"No, not for you. You're birthday isn't for another four months," his mother told him. "Why don't you go play in your room?"

"Okay," he said and took off running down the hall. A second later Emmy heard his door shut. "Where's the old man at?"

"He's in the baby's room," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "He's painting it girly colors."

"What if she doesn't like girly colors?" Emmy argued. "I didn't like girly colors."

"Neither did I," she shook her head with a sigh and rubbed her belly. "He said that if she didn't like it we could repaint it."

"He never listens," she shook her head.

"Tell me about it," Bridget snorted. "You go ahead and talk to him. I'm going to go finish my lunch and Oprah."

Emmy waved her off and walked down the hall, second door on the left. Russ was sitting on the floor in the empty white room, painting girlish things like flowers and unicorns on the wall. If there was one thing Russ was good at, it was art. The unicorn looked like something out of a cartoon, movie and the Mickey and Minnie mouse looked a lot like the originals. He had done the same to Leo's room before he was born except gave him more boy figures, like Buzz Lightyear and the Iron Giant.

"You ruining my niece's room before she even gets a chance to be in it."

"You bet," he said without looking up at her. He was putting the finishing touches on Mickey's nose. "She's going to grow up and be a girl."

"Like I'm not?"

He looked up at her. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

She cracked a smile at him. "Smart ass."

He stood up to his feet without the use of his hands and set the paint done on the plastic covered floor. "To what do I owe this nuisance?"

"I came to ask you for a favor."

"Isn't it enough I'm going to your wedding?"

"No, I have something else to ask of you," she said as she walked further into the room.

"What's that?" he asked as he wiped his hands off on a towel.  
She took a deep breath and let it out nosily. "I want you to give me away at the wedding."

He froze and stared at her. "Nut I'm already Jonathan's best man."

"You can do both."

"Can't you have someone else do it?"

"It would mean a great deal to me, Russ, if you were to give me away," she told her brother. "You're the only family I have."

Russell sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you really love this guy I'll do it…I'm his best man anyway."

She shook her head. "Come on, Russ, Jonathan is not a bad guy."

"No he's not, I know that. I'd just prefer you never got married or had sex or anything. You're my baby sister, you're pure," he said.

She smiled evilly. "I'm not a pure virgin, Russ."

"Oh God, don't tell me that," he groaned and sat on a stool, burying his face in his hands.

"I haven't been in years so don't kill Jonathan. He didn't taint me."

Russell shook his head, lifting his face up. "Now that that image of you is destroyed I can let you get married. I approve of Jonathan. I have for over a year now. He's better for you than any other guy I've seen so far. He's got a good head on his shoulders and he'll take care of you. I trust him."

"Good. Then it's settled," she said with a grin. "I'll see you then."

Russ grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him, enveloping her in hug. She hugged him back just as tightly, feeling the bond there that no one else could possibly understand. He pulled away first. "Just don't go rushing into kids. Trust me on that."

She laughed. "Will do, Russy," she backed out of the room. "I gotta get home. Make sure Rachel doesn't drive Jonathan completely up a wall."

"Oh no…he went shopping with her," Russ dreaded. He had learned from experience that that wasn't something any man wanted to do, not with a perfectionist like Rachel Dawes.

"Yeah. So I gotta make sure they're both still alive."

"Have fun."

"See you later."

Emmy left the house and headed home, all thoughts of Falcone out of her head. She'd completely forgotten about anything he had said to her. Right now, it didn't matter

"This is the _last_ suit I'm trying on, Rachel," Jonathan complained as he came out of the dressing room for the sixth time. It was his biggest mistake. He agreed to go with Rachel to get his suit because, apparently, none of the ones he owned were good enough – or so Rachel believed. In the end, he agreed to go with her to get a new one. Seven suits later he regretted saying anything.

She smiled, which he took as a good sign compared to the countless frowns he got from her time and time again each time he emerged from behind the doors. And each time he reminded her _she _had picked out the suit. From the dark blue one to the gray one and finally they were on the black one he had pointed at from the beginning with a simple red tie.

"This looks good," she nodded her head and moved around him, straightening it out, picking any fuzz off. He rolled his eyes as she adjusted each of his sleeves, as if he didn't know how. He tried fixing one, but she slapped his hand away, insisting on doing it herself three suits back and since then he let her do the sleeve adjustments.

She stood in front of him, fixing his tie and stood back, finger against her chin. She shook it at him. "This is it."

"Oh thank God," he let out the breath he had been holding.

"Wait," she said and moved close to him. She removed his glasses and ran her fingers through his hair, letting it fall back into place. "There," she smiled. "You look perfect for her now. Just don't wear the lasses during the wedding and you'll look perfect."

"And I didn't before because…" he asked, pursuing his lips.

"You always did, Jonathan. I'm just saying you have to look perfect for this day. It's the only time you'll marry her."

"I'm curious, Rachel," he said as he looked at himself in the mirror. Just as he expected when they first walked in, this was the suit. "Are you this anal with Emmy and her dress?"

She snorted. "Of course. I have to make sure she looks perfect for you. And because you don't really have a best man – I know it's Russ – but like he'd do this for you, I have double the work. I have to make you both look good."

"I could have done this myself," he told her.

"No," she shook her head. "You needed me to do this. It's my job."

"Remind me to never hire you again," he teased.

"Shut up and go change," she chuckled and pointed at the doors.

He went back into the dressing room and put his clothes back on, carrying the suit back out and paying for it. They walked back to her car to put his suit in the back then decided on coffee.

"So why couldn't you find a different best man?" Rachel asked as they stood in line at the Starbucks, her treat.

He shrugged. "There was no one I really cared to give that position to. Sure, there was the head director at the asylum, but he's off in China – again meeting with a soul searcher there for a higher purpose and more of this plant he brought back last time. It's his last trip before he retires and I take over his title."

"That's great," she exclaimed as she took her chocolate frap from the man behind the counter and paid, handing Jonathan his java chip frap.

"It certainly is. I take it you'll be D.A. soon."

"More than likely," she nodded as they walked back to the car and got in.

"That's a good thing then."

She nodded. "Yeah. It's my turn to put Falcone's boys behind bars and try to clean this city up a little."

"It'll get there eventually," he told her as they headed towards his apartment.

"I'd love to see that day," she snorted. "So why did you decide on Russ as your best man – if I may ask since we veered off for a moment?"

"There isn't anyone else I would trust with the title then her brother. She likes him and I enjoy his company now that he's a family man."

"Will you be a 'family man'?" Rachel asked as they approached the apartment building and she pulled to the curb.

Jonathan choked a bit on his drink as he removed his suit from the back seat. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," she said with a smile and handed the valet her car keys. "Do you and Emmy plan on having kids?"

Kids…he hadn't really thought of it. Sure, it came to his mind from time to time. The idea of being a father was a big task, bigger than running the asylum. At least he _knew _how to do that. But since his father had never been much of one, he didn't know what to do. His father had taught him what _not _to do. But being a father himself…

"Some day," he told her as they went inside. "Not anytime soon. Maybe after we're married for a year or two you'll become an aunt. Until then, don't hold your breath."

"I'll try not to considering the reaction Russ is already having about your honeymoon,' she teased as they took the elevator.

He frowned, puzzled. "Why would Russ have a problem with the honeymoon?"

She rolled her eyes at him and gave him an –oh-please look. "It guarantees what you two will be doing and Russ hates – no revolts – at the idea of it. What do you two think you're going to be doing the majority of the time? Swimming? Playing checkers? Discussing the common ideas of psychology? Or maybe spending hours in the bedroom beneath the sheets?"

Jonathan blushed slightly and gave an embarrassed smile, eyes meeting the tiled floor.

"I believe you're blushing, Mr. Crane," Rachel teased. Jabbing him in the shoulder with her finger.

"Am not," he shook his head, fighting off the heat in his cheeks.

"Are to," she nodded.

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Am not."

The elevator doors opened and Rachel shook her head at him. "Are too…" she smiled. "I think this marriage will be the start of a great friendship between the three of us…it's been a long time since we had a trio."

"I can make a rude joke on that part, but I won't."

"Pervert," Rachel laughed at him.

Jonathan smiled and carried his suit over his shoulder, hoping that Rachel was right. This would be the start of a beautiful friendship for them all.

A/N: The next chapter will get darker…unless I get another happy idea before the big blowout. Say tuned and find out.


	11. Lucky

A/N: I promised a darker chapter…here it is…the beginning of the Jonathan we al know and more importantly WHY…enjoy

* * *

**CHAPTER 11 - Lucky**

Being married made everything easier, made life more bearable in Gotham and made their bond all the more stronger, especially after nearly six years of being married. In that time period, Rachel had become a D.A. in Gotham, Emmeline had moved up the status scale at work, and Jonathan had fully taken over at Arkham. He loved it.

He and Emmeline had married and six months later the director at Arkham had retired without reason. Jonathan had thought the man looked ill taken, but didn't say a word about it. He was too overcome with the joy of being the director of the asylum and at the young age of twenty-four. It couldn't be better, but it did get a little better after a mysterious letter arrived in the mail for him…from China.

There was no name, just initials, R.A.G, and a blue flower, the same one his friend had brought back with him years ago that he had wanted to experiment with, but never did. With that flower he spent a month using it in various forms, but found that powder to be the most useful on the lab rats. He had put it away after that, locking it in his cabinet in his home office and not thinking of it. It had no real use for him, interesting effects, but useless nonetheless.

Now, five years later, he sat on the couch, staring at the show on the TV but not paying much attention to it considering he had many other things boiling over in his mind. Mainly one concern that rested behind the closed bathroom door.

Emmy returned to the living room and Jonathan looked up at her. She still looked the exact same, still slender still green eyed, same dark wavy hair, still the girl he loved more than life. "I'm getting sick of work," she sighed, plopping down next to him.

"Why's that?"

"Falcone," was all she needed to say. He nodded. In five years time, Falcone practically owned the damn city and everyone in it. His thugs would get put on trial and get off in a weeks time. Nothing either of them, or Rachel, did mattered anymore. Falcone always won in the end and nothing would stop him because no one could, and Jonathan certainly wasn't able to.

"There's nothing we can do about that colossal problem," he told her and patted her thigh.

"I know. I just wonder how Russ does this, raising two kids in this God forsaken city. It's not the best place in the world. The streets are more dangerous and the Narrows are worse than before and it doesn't help that I'm still on Falcone's shit list."

"Don't say that," he told her. "He'd never do anything to hurt you."

"I wouldn't put it past him, Jonathan."

"He hasn't tried anything in the last five years, why would he start now?"  
She met his blue eyes and he saw the concern. "Because we have so much more to lose now."

His jaw dropped a little as he processed her words. His hand tightened on her thigh. "Are you saying…the test said…you're…we're…"

"Pregnant," she said with a nod.

He let out a choked laugh and ran a hand through his hair. "We're pregnant."

"_I'm _pregnant," she corrected. "_You_ just made me that way."

He smiled and laughed, tackling her with a hug that knocked them both sideways on the couch. Emmy giggled as they both fell off the couch, her landing on top of Jonathan. He held her there. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie about being pregnant? If I was going to lie I'd say my father was George Clooney, so why lie?"

"I don't know. To do it as some sick twisted joke."

"I'm serious."

"You're brother is going to murder me and make it look like an accident," he said but grinned. He didn't care if Russ killed him.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But he'll be more thrilled to have another kid in the family."

He kissed her, too happy for words, and barely heard the door open behind her.

"Whoa," Rachel said when she saw Emmy on top of Jonathan since they hadn't moved from the floor. "I'll come back later."

"Get back here," Emmy called out. "We aren't doing anything."

Rachel moved back in the door. "Are you sure?"

"I just got done telling him I'm pregnant."

"And here I was wondering why that could be," she gestured at the position they were in.

Emmy laughed and stood to her feet and Jonathan sat up. "You know?" he asked Rachel.

"Yeah, she called me while she was in the bathroom. Apparently you took it well."

"I'd say better than well," Emmy teased. "He hasn't kissed me like that since we were younger."

"I'll kiss you like that more often if you'd like," he told her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"That'd be a nice change," she joked with him

"Speaking of change, with a baby on the way, someone's going to have to make a few changes at work," Rachel said, shifting her eyes to Emmeline.

She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break."

"She does have a point," Jonathan agreed.

"Now you two are ganging up on me," she shook her head.

Jonathan moved his arms and turned her around. "It's for the best. You work too many days and too many hours as it is and its not good for you, more so now."

"You need to start taking it is and put in for your maternity leave," Rachel advised her.

Emmy bit her lip. She didn't think of that before. Being pregnant meant she had to rely more on Jonathan and less on herself to do things. And it meant she had to give-up time at work or risk putting her health and her child's in danger. In the end, it would be for the best.

"Fine. You win. I'll do it. I'll work less hours, but I'm not giving up my night hours if they need me to work three to ten. And I won't take leave until I'm at least seven months."

"Deal," they said simultaneously.

"Now, on to the important thing," Rachel said and pulled out a bunch of baby magazines from her bag. "We need to start thinking of the nursery and names and clothes."

"Oh Jesus," Jonathan mumbled and ran a hand over his face, having flashbacks to his wedding preparations when Rachel picked out his suit and took care of the ceremony design. It had been hell and he had seven more months of this to look forward to. But at least it would be a great seven months. He put an arm around Emmy as they listened to Rachel drabble on passionately about her ideas. He slid one hand to her stomach and felt the bump there. In that moment, nothing in the world could be wrong for him.

* * *

Emmeline sat at the station, dialing in Jonathan's number. It was ten o'clock already. She had worked late at the court house on a case for Gordon and Rachel. By the time she was done Gordon and Rachel were both already gone and she didn't have her car, so the monorail station it was. She knew for a fact Jonathan would be worried that his five-month pregnant wife was riding home this late at night. But she had no other choice.

"Hello?" Jonathan answered the phone at home.

"Hey honey," she smiled as she heard his voice.

"Where are you?"

"At the station. I'm on my way home."

"You're taking the monorail? Are you _insane_?"

Yup, she was right. "I'll be fine honey. I just wanted to check in with you. There's no one here anyway. Its completely empty."

"More the reason for me to panic."

"Don't panic. I'll be home in twenty minutes," she told Jonathan over the phone.

"Are you sure you don't want me t pick you up?" he asked, concerned for her safety.

"I'm already at the station, don't worry."

"Why didn't you get aride with Rachel?"

"She didn't offer, she was probably busy."

"She's never too busy to help you."

"Don't worry about it. What's done is done.I'll be home soon. I love you."

"Love you too, be careful."

"I will," she hung up the phone and slid it into her pocket, pulling her jacket tighter around her. She glanced around the empty station, except for the pieces of trash that flitted around; no one was there. She shivered, but not from the cold. Jonathan had been right about one thing; she was getting creeped out. She didn't like being her alone, especially being alone and being pregnant. She reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone and reconsider Jonathan's offer when she heard footsteps behind her.

She spun around only to meet a fist. The hand connected with the side of her face and she went sprawling to the floor, the phone sliding across the dirty tile too far for her to reach.

The burly man laughed and she glanced up despite the pain in her jaw. "I believe you owe me something," the burly guy said.

Emmy's face fell as she recognized him. It was the guy from seven years ago, the one who tried to rape her while she was helping Jonathan after he'd been attacked. "Oh my God."

"I'm not God, but you'll be wishing he was here."

She backed away on her hands, crawling across the tile. "Please don't do this."

He walked after her, casually in no hurry like a tiger watching a wounded zebra. He knew she was going nowhere. "Nothing's gonna stop me, doll."

"I'll scream," she warned him, inching to her phone. If she could get hold of Jonathan or Gordon or even her brother she could get out of this.

He laughed, deep and menacing. "To who? No one in this town will give a shit."

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw the phone only two feet away from her. "Please don't do this…I'm pregnant."

He laughed. "Even better. It won't hurt much…I promise."

Emmeline made a dive for her phone. The guy was quicker for his bulky size. He kicked the phone away and lashed out at her with his foot, catching her stomach before she could move away. Emmeline let out a cry as a deep pain took over her from his heavy boot. She curled on her side, clutching her stomach and knew what was happening. That one blow was all it had taken. She was losing her baby, she could feel the tearing inside her, feel the pain that let her know the depressing truth. Her baby was going to die. She tried to get up, tried to get away, but he hit her again and she fell back down. Half conscious but only to the pain in her womb, the pain of losing a child.

* * *

Jonathan sat hunched over, lips resting against his folded hands, staring at the pale blue tile in the hospital. In the hour he spent staring nothing had changed. He had hoped that somehow he could transport himself back in time, that by some magic he could make this all a nightmare. But the reality was still the same despite how hard he stared. His wife was still in the hospital and his child was still dead.

Emmeline was sleeping now the doctor had told him. She was lucky they had said. She only had a minor black eye but no concussion and no broken bones. Lucky? He could have laughed at that. His wife had been raped and their child was lost but they were lucky? What did they know? This entire city was full of the same people that considered themselves lucky, but no one was lucky.

Rachel was sitting a few seats away from him near Russ, he hadn't said a word to either of them. He couldn't figure out what to say without screaming at either of them. He remembered them coming in, nearly running towards him. He found it funny she cared all the sudden for Emmeline's safety.

Rachel had sat next to him then. "Oh my God, Jonathan, is she okay? I shouldn't have left her. I should have asked her if she needed a ride. Is she all right?"

"She's alive," he managed to say.

"Was she hurt?"

"Doctor says she'll live. No broken bones, no concussion…they say she was _lucky_," he said with hate. Russ had snorted and sat a few chairs away

"Thank God," Rachel nodded with a sigh. "She's lucky."

He met her with icy blue eyes behind his glasses, unable to believe her words. He felt a new hate towards his once friend. "She was raped and she lost the baby…tell me…_Miss Dawes_…would you consider yourself lucky?"

Rachel had stared at him with a frown and a hurt look on her face. Jonathan smiled coldly at her and turned his head away, satisfied with his probing, that was when his eyes had met the unmagical tile and his staring contest had begun.

All he wanted to do was kill the guy who did this and they knew exactly who it was. Gordon had been there earlier. Not ten minutes ago. He stood up, heading to Emmy's room without so much as a glance at his brother in law and Rachel. He went over what Gordon had said in his mind as he stared at his sleeping bride.

"I have good news and bad news," Gordon had said as he stood. A thin, pale version of the man. Jonathan had guessed he hadn't had much sleep in the last few days and he wouldn't be getting much more tonight.

"What's the good news?" Jonathan asked.

"We caught the guy who did it. He matches Emmy's description from boots to face."

"And the bad news?" Russ asked, Jonathan couldn't utter the words because he knew the joy he felt for them catching the sonofabitch would be short lived.

"He has an alibi. Even if we do arrest him, he'll get off."

Jonathan laughed bitterly, a sound that was nothing like him. He shook his head. "It's all the same. A man murders someone or rapes someone and they all get treated like petty thieves. There is no such thing as justice in a city like Gotham…not yet anyway."

He had said nothing more after that. He was vaguely aware of Gordon speaking but paid no attention. Now he stood looking at Emmy. He brushed the hair from her face and kissed her forehead before turning away and heading home, not bothering to say a word to Rachel or Russ.

In his home he sat in his office with a glass of scotch in his hand, completely leaned backing his leather office chair, staring at the picture of him and Emmy, next to it he had the sonogram of his daughter…a girl. They were going to have a girl, he was going to have a daughter…was. But she was taken away by a man who would never see the inside of prison, never feel the gold grip of justice.

Jonathan wiped at his cheek with one hand and came away with tears, He clenched his fist and let out an angry cry, throwing the glass against the wall and watching it shatter and rain crystal and scotch onto the carpet.

He buried his face in his hands and sat there, silently sobbing. After a few minutes he lifted his head up and his eyes fell on the letter, the old fashioned paper with the black ink writing where the words asked him for assistance. He had received that letter a month ago with another blue flower like the one that had been sent before.

He fished out his keys from his pocket and unlocked the bottom drawer. Opening it, he pulled out a glass container full of a white powder that he had yet to condense into the thinner powdery substance he had used on the lab rats. He knew what the letter asked of him. He knew what the man wanted assistance in. A month ago he had dismissed it, deciding against helping because he felt he could help Gotham on his own with Rachel and Emmy. But he saw how Gotham treated Emmy and how Rachel hadn't bothered to offer a ride to Emmy. He didn't care much anymore, he felt drained of emotion, drained of the energy to bother helping a town that was beyond any aid other than Falcone's.

Jonathan put the container down and picked up a pen and took out a sheet of paper, writing back to the initialed man, asking what he could do to help Gotham in a new way that involved his experimental powder. For the second time that night, he felt a little piece of him die, but with the dying came something new that was being born inside him and only needed the time to grow, the time to harvest into what fate had chosen him to be.

* * *

**A/N: There you are. The reason why he helped Ras Al Ghul….Falcone's reason is coming a lot sooner and so is everything else we know from the movie…please R&R let me know how I'm doing.**


	12. Crossing Over

**A/N: Sorry its taking so long…I've been working and I have two jobs. One as a journalist one in a store and I saw the screening of Cillian's new movie _Red Eye. _It's very promising…it made me angry in one part involving a pen but you'll see for yourself. I also had an interview with Mr. Murphy, very very nice guy and his eyes are bluer in person. His wife has got to be a sweetheart to be with him. Well anyway, thank you for the reviews. Please keep giving them and I'll try to write faster. Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER 12 – Crossing Over**

Three weeks went by without a letter from the initials. Jonathan was beginning to wonder if the man had given up on him since he wasn't quick to answer and had waited a little over a month to respond to him. But that was besides the point now. He rubbed at his eyes as he sat at the diner twenty minutes away from work. He had taken time off to have lunch with Emmy and was waiting for her to return from the bathroom. She'd been released two days after her "accident" as they were calling it. That only added the needed fuel to his flame. An accident…as if it were her fault all along. It was his fault for not insisting on picking her up, it was Rachel's fault for not prosecuting or offering a ride to begin with…it was that man's fault for attacking her. Anyone's fault but Emmeline's.

She returned from the restroom and slid into the seat across from him, having needed wash her hands after she ate. She smiled warmly at him. "What's on your mind, honey?"

"Just you," he said, reaching across to take her hand. "I always think about you."

"Nowadays," she finished for him. "Look, Jonathan, we've been over this. He got away…but they'll get him again eventually. I know who did it, I know his face, I've known it for years. Don't worry about him…we'll get him and Rachel will prosecute the hell out of him."

Jonathan chuckled unkindly. "Rachel," the name fell from his full lips with more spite than his looks made him out to have.

Emmy let out an irritated sigh. "Don't do this, Jonathan. Don't blame her for this."

"She's partially responsible."

"How do you figure that?" she questioned.

"Miss Dawes is the most stubborn person in all of Gotham. She never offered you a ride before she left and she would have pushed to do it. But she never did, did she?"

"No but-."

"Don't make excuses for her," he pointed. "I trusted her all these years to take care of you because you both worked in the same facility and she couldn't do that."

"She's my friend, Jonathan."

"She may be your friend…but she's not mine."

"You won't even call her by her first name anymore."

"To call her by her first name means I make an emotional connection with the person that may require feelings…why would I do that?"

Emmy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. There was no point in arguing it any further. She knew how strongly Jonathan felt about Rachel now and his mind was set on hating her. Rachel had felt bad about the fact Jonathan removed her from his life but now she was taking the time to do the same and Emmeline was in the middle with her best friend on one side and her husband on the other with no chance of compromise.

"I won't argue. Just respect the fact that she's my friend…for me."

"Fine. I can do that for you."

"Thank you," she said and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand with a smile. "You know I was thinking that, since you get off early tonight, we could go back to doing things we used to do."

He smiled and for the first time in three weeks it reached his eyes. She loved seeing the blue in them warm up and the ice melt away. "Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"I'm always ready for you," she grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"I'll be sure to get home very early then…but I'll have to leave now if you want me to be home early."

He stood up and got to his feet, straightening his suit out. Emmy jumped to her feet and locked her lips to his, kissing him passionately with a hunger she hadn't been able to feel in weeks. Not since the raping. She hadn't been able to touch Jonathan and she had hated it, but she made herself get through it, forced herself to cross that barrier for her marriages sake. The nightmares still came, the sadness of the loss of her child hit her, but she kept herself going, kept herself moving because to give into the depression and fear was letting that man win, and she refused to let him take her freedom from her. He had taken so much as it was she couldn't let him take that from her too.

She parted from Jonathan only when a waitress cleared her throat and tapped them on the shoulders. "This is a public place, if you'd like to continue this, take it to your bedroom."

Jonathan actually blushed and adjusted his glasses breathlessly. "I'll be home early…count on it."

"Oh I will," she grinned as she walked him out, getting into her own car as he sped off. Once he was gone did she shiver from the memory of the night. She had been half conscious when it happened, but she remembered the pain of losing her child. Her hand reflexively went to her abdomen, feeling the flatness of her tummy that should have been swollen. She swallowed the lump in her throat and started her car, driving back to work to take her mind from things and to put criminals, like the man that raped her, away where they belonged since she couldn't put them six feet under like she wished.

* * *

Jonathan pulled through the heavy metal black gates and parked his car in the lot. He glanced out his window and let out a soft curse when he saw the mob man standing near the brick wall, two of his goons behind him and his driver still sitting in the driver's seat of the black car. He wondered what the man could possibly want because it was the only time anyone saw Falcone. Death wasn't a worry, he wouldn't be seen if Jonathan was meant to be killed. Personal appearance were only for his own benefit.

"Dr. Crane," Falcone smiled as Jonathan stepped out of his car.

"Falcone," he regarded the mob boss with nothing more than his name. "What are you doing here in this part of the Narrows?"

He shrugged his bold shoulders. "I came to see how you were doin'?"

"How thoughtful of you," Jonathan said with no emotion. "If you'd excuse me, I have work to get back to."

"I mean, I heard what happened ta Emmeline," Falcone went on. "She's one of my favorite girls, I hated hearing about it and I wanna help."

"How could you possibly help Falcone when all you touch turns to dirt?" he stared at him with cold blue eyes.

"I scratch your back, you scratch mine," Falcone told him. "You help me and I'll help you, pal. That's how I can help."

Crane frowned. He was trying to buy him over, trying to make Crane part of his corrupt scheme, trying to make him like the rest of the city. Full of buying people off and letting the criminals free, letting the men who hurt Emmy, who killed his child go free in this world. There was no such thing as justice, it was a fairy tale written with all the others and set for the movies. Reality meant the bad guys went free and the badder ones made everyone else afraid by using fear as means of respect and the others were paid to keep their moths shut. Nothing worked anymore. "I don't want your money." Jonathan turned to walk away from him but froze halfway down the hall when he spoke again.

"I'll give you the guy you want."

There was only one guy Jonathan wanted, only one guy he wanted his hands on. The one who hurt Emmeline. The one that got away in the twisted system. He turned around slowly to look at Falcone. He wasn't smiling, he was serious for a change.

"You know him?"

"I know where he is. Tall broad guy, bald head, tattoos, did time for rape before. Yeah, I'll give him ta the cops for a different charge. You get your hands on him that way, you're the psych guy."

"In return for what?" he asked slowly, moving back towards Falcone.

Now he smiled. "You're the psychiatrist. You determine if a criminal is sane or not and if they need ta be transported ta say, the Arkham Asylum where you work. You get two of my men off sentencing and into the asylum and I'll get you your guy. What do you say?"

Jonathan thought about it. He'd be giving in to the pressure of the city if he did this, into everything he and Emmy had been against…but he'd be getting his revenge for everything that happened to him, to Emmy, to his child, and to everyone else in the city. He may fall from grace but it would mean justice in a way he never thought possible and a way to take Falcone down from the inside.

He adjusted his glasses slightly and lifted his head back up and met the devil's burning brown eyes. "Deal."

"That's a good boy," Falcone cackled. "Welcome ta the rest of the system of Gotham. I'll turn your guy in and he'll have an accident behind bars."

"No," Jonathan said it before he could even think it over. If anyone hurt this guy, it'd be him. He deserved to do it.

Falcone frowned slightly. "Why not? My men can total him behind those bars."

"I want to do it," Jonathan told him.

Falcone laughed. "No offense, Crane. But you're what, 5'7" and 130 max. You can't take on this guy."

Jonathan thought it over. The blue flower he'd been working on had some interesting effects on lab rats. He wondered what kind of an effect they'd have on people and if it had the same effects on them as it did the rats that would be an interesting experiment that could provide itself useful. He thoroughly enjoyed the way the mind controlled the body and the way fear effected the mind overall. His powder substance seemed to have that effect, and who better to prey the fears on than this man. For the first time in a long time, Jonathan smiled genuinely, but it didn't touch his eyes. They stayed as stone blue as possible and he enjoyed seeing Falcone's smile falter a bit on the edges. "I have my own methods," he adjusted his glasses again. "A new medication I've been meaning to experiment with. You hand this man over to the police and I will deliver his psych evaluation."

"And you'll get two of my boys out of jail time?"

"That was the deal," he nodded his head.

Falcone shrugged his big shoulders. "Whatever ya want, kid. Just get my boys out and you can drug the guy up."

"Count on it."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Dr. Crane," Falcone smiled and slid his sunglasses on. He moved back towards the car. "We'll make a deal again sometime."

Jonathan watched him pull away in his car before heading inside. He had some adjustments he had to make if he was going to do this. For one, he'd need something to block the dust from getting into his lungs…a mask of some sort with an air cleanser. The other trick, was creating something to put the powder into. He tapped his fingers on his briefcase and paused, staring at it before pursuing his lips and smiling as an idea came to him. He'd have to work on it at once. Planning his wife's rapist psych evaluation was much more important at the moment and he only had a few hours to work before he had to be home to Emmy. He didn't want to leave her home alone longer than he had to…he never wanted to leave her alone again even though part of him already had.


	13. Simple Call

**A/N: I will try, my hardest to get at least two chapters a week but I may only be able to get one a week. And yes, Cillian is a sweetheart and very funny guy…but he's not tall at all. He's 5'7 – 5'8 max and you are in for a treat with Red Eye (Aug 19) I can't wait to see it again…but then again I can cuz I hate seeing him get hurt. Drove me nuts in Batman when he got his head slammed against the side of the staircase but Red Eye makes that look like tag. Anyway, enjoy the darkness that is Crane. A lot of you are asking questions that the answers to will be revealed later on in this story…enjoy for now.**

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**CHAPTER 13 – Simple Call**

Emmeline found it strange that Jonathan was so perky when she came out of the bathroom one morning. He was nearly dressed, only adding his tie to complete his suit. "Morning, honey," he smiled, pausing to give her a kiss.

She blinked. "Who did you kill or incriminate?"

"No one, why do you ask?"

"Because you're so…" she fumbled with the word and frowned. "Happy. I haven't seen you happy in awhile."

He shrugged his shoulders modestly. "It's a beautiful day in Gotham. Do you need a ride to work?"

She shook her head and fit her hair into a rubber band. "No, I'm not working today. It's my day off."

"All right. What do you plan to do today?"

She shrugged this time even though she knew exatly what she'd be doing, she just wasn't sure how Jonathan would react. "Thought I'd go visit my brother then go shopping with…" she paused on Rachel's name, uncertain on Jonathan's reaction.

"Go ahead. I can't stop you," he told her with a smile, not even flinching at the thought of Rachel. "As long as you have a good day, that's all that matters."

"Okay," she nodded slowly. It seemed like her husband was slowly returning to her. He wasn't as angry and shelled in as he had been the past few weeks. He was almost his usual self…but she still felt something missing in him.

He gave her another kiss. "I should be home no later than nine tonight, but no earlier than six. I'll give you a call on your cell when I'm on my way in case you're still out with your friend or at your brother's." He gave her yet another kiss and touched the side of her face. "I love you, Emmy."

She smiled softly when the blue in his eyes was sincere and there was no trace of the ice she had seen a few days before when they had discussed Rachel. "I love you, too, Jonathan."

His hand fell away and he left with a wave. She watched and smiled, touching her lips gently. Things were finally turning back to normal in the Crane household and after all the chaos, she was glad for it.

* * *

He sat there, leaned back in his chair, hands folded on the table with a smug little smile, like nothing could touch him, nothing could faze him. He sat there like he was the biggest, baddest, most fearful guy in the room as Jonathan entered. Biggest, the guy was. Baddest, Jonathan gave him that too. But most fearful, the man was robbed of, he just didn't know it yet.

Jonathan sat his briefcase on the table and took a seat, looking briefly at the file just for show. He knew everything about Paul Starling. He had read the file forwards and backwards and knew every inch of it. The man had been imprisoned twice before, once for robbery, once for rape, though they only charged him for one victim, Paul had claimed more, at least six others without charge, but with pictures. Just like he wouldn't be charged for his eighth rape and, possibly, first murder.

"Mr. Starling, you have quite an impressive rap sheet," Jonathan said, making small talk. It was all he could do to refrain from killing the man across from him. From reaching into his silver briefcase for his special surprise that he had created in a days time. He knew there were no cameras in here. They all trusted him, and they had no reason not to or so they thought. It might have been true a year ago, he had been a Good Samaritan psychiatrist, but that period was over. He'd serve justice in his own manner.

The burly guy shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a natural."

"And now you're being charged for attempted murder," Jonathan said and couldn't help the dullness that entered his voice.

"Yeah," the guy tisked. "It was a set up. Should have smelt that the minute I entered the damn store that Falcone set me up. So I thought I'd try to kill the son of a bitch, but I got busted before I had the chance."

"What a shame?" Jonathan shook his head. "But I'm more interested in your rape victims and why you did it. It's always intriguing to know why someone commits such a crime against women."

"I was horny they were there," he shrugged. "They weren't willing so I made them willing. It's that simple. There's no math to it."

"It was necessary to _beat_ them into submission?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Gotta do what you gotta do," the guy said with a smile. "I get a thrill out of it."

Jonathan stared hard and licked his suddenly dry lips as he sat forward a bit. "What about your latest victim? The eighth girl?"

He gave Jonathan a huge grin and nodded. "That pretty brunette. The bitch who wouldn't give it to me a few years back. I told her I'd be seeing her again. I never make a promise I don't keep. She was a great piece of ass, had to throw her around a little, but she gave in."

"When she was half conscious," Jonathan said as calmly as he could manage though his fingers were digging into the table to the point his knuckles were white and it hurt a little.

"It's better that way. They don't comprehend it entirely so they're in a mix of being afraid and liking it, but I like the fear."

Bingo. "Fear," Jonathan repeated the word slowly. "You thrive on their fear."

"Yeah, it's a turn on," the guy said and smiled at the memory. "She didn't scream so much for herself than she did for her baby…little whore was knocked up," he chuckled. "Made it better."

"She lost that baby." Jonathan said calmly as his anger burned.

"Bound to happen. I got what I wanted. That's all that mattered. And she was the best, more afraid than any of the others for that baby. Bet she didn't know who the daddy was, little tramp."

Jonathan couldn't take it. He had to get it done while his anger was hot and burning inside him. He managed to keep a straight face though the fire burned through his eyes, lighting them with blue flames. "That 'little tramp' as you so enjoy calling her is my wife…and that baby was my child," Jonathan said through his locked jaw.

"No kidding," the guy chuckled. "Oh, this is good. So you come in here looking for revenge, dude. Don't try it. I'll break you in half before you stand up."

Jonathan smiled, again it didn't touch his eyes. He removed his glasses, folding them and tucking them in his inner jacket pocket. He tilted his head casually at Paul as the bigger man watched him, popping his knuckles and waiting. He had no idea. Physical force wasn't Jonathan's strong suite. It was mental that he mastered. "Would you like to see my mask, Mr. Starling?"

"Huh?" the big guy frowned as Jonathan opened his briefcase. The guy could clearly see now that Jonathan held no visible weapon, just a raggedy looking sack that had holes cut into it. Jonathan picked it up and stuck his hand inside, activating the breathing apparatus inside that he had attached the other night to complete it.

"See, I haven't exactly tried it on anyone. I just made it, to be completely honest, after I heard I'd be seeing you. You're my test run on this experiment so we will both be surprised with the outcome of this," Jonathan slid the mask on.

"What the hell?" the guy frowned. "You're a weird piece of shit, what are you doing, freak?"

"Revenge…it's a promise I made myself…I never break a promise and fear is something _I_ thrive on," his voice came out distorted through the mask and he slid the suitcase around pressing on the lever hidden in the sides. A cloud of white fumes shot out from the front, spraying in Paul's face.

The man gagged and coughed, letting out a surprised yelp before looking up at Jonathan and screaming as loud as he could. "Pay back, Paul," Jonathan spoke to the screaming man as he cowered and thrashed at the sight of Jonathan, but what he saw was bugs and a Scarecrow in a distorted room that jerked and spasmed, moving fast then slow. "Justice for all the women you've raped, all the lives you destroyed, the child you killed. Face your monster, Paul. Face what you've done. Feel the fear you put in them. Live with it for the rest of your life."

"No! No! No!" he screamed over and over. "Leave me alone. No! Don't hurt me!"

Jonathan removed the mask as he heard a knock on the door. He tucked it back into his briefcase and slid his glasses back on, shutting the case. He looked back in awe at what his powder had done to Paul. He was whimpering in a corner, mumbling to himself, lost in his own mind from the fear. He had done that to him, made him into a worthless vessel. He had robbed the man of his power with the press of a button.

He opened the door and stepped out, meeting the gaze of the curious officer. "He definitely has some issues. He began speaking of his childhood and when I got to his father he began convulsing in fits. I couldn't get anymore out of him."

"Is he a threat?" the officer asked cautiously, not wanting to approach Starling if he was a danger to his well-being.

Jonathan glanced at the door and then back at the officer. "Only to himself…he needs psychiatric treatment. I'll talk to the judge and see if I can get him put into Arkham. I can take better care of him there."

The officer nodded and gazed tentatively at the door as Jonathan strode away. He hurried outside and slid into the driver's seat of his car, setting his briefcase next to him. He removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes, in total shock over what had just happened. His heart was pounding and he was gasping for air, it felt like he had just run a marathon and was still rushing with adrenaline. He'd done that. He had just taken justice into his own hands and it felt…good.

He reached into his case and took out the sack mask. It proved to be useful impressing on the fears of people when they were under the influence of the toxin. If only he could do it to every corrupt person in Gotham.

His cell phone rang in his pocket and he withdrew it, not recognizing the number on the display. He flipped it open. "Dr. Crane?"

"Hello, Dr. Crane," a voice said on the other end with a crisp accent.

Jonathan frowned. "Who is this?"

"I am terribly sorry I haven't responded to your letter at a quicker pace, but I've been busy with other stressing matters."

"My letter…R.A.G. You're R.A.G?"

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Ra's Al Ghul. I met your former boss a few years ago and he was intrigued with our blue poppies. He thought you'd have an interest in them as well and by your letter I see you have used them on lab rats."

He nodded his head and gazed at the prison in wonder. "I've advanced since I wrote the letter?"

"Really?" he sounded generally engrossed by this.

"Yes…just now in fact."

"And what did you find of the flowers powers?"

Jonathan continued staring at the building as his fingers played over the mask, remembering the rush he had gotten from what he had just done. "I found it to be quite…satisfying. It gave me exactly what I was looking for."

"And what was that, Dr. Crane?"

He glanced at the mask and at his wedding band, thinking of Emmeline and his unborn child who had now been redeemed. "Justice, Mr. Al Ghul."

He heard the man breathe into the phone and was sure it was a breath of relief and not regret. "Then I take it you're willing to help us purge Gotham of it's corruptness."

Jonathan thought it over. Thought about what he had just done and how he was already in debt to Falcone…Falcone, he was involved with the worst man in the city…but it could be used to his advantage as long as Falcone never caught on. He could make Falcone believe he was working for him, make him believe he had fallen into the darkness of the city, when in truth he'd be working from the inside to take Falcone down and fix the city once and for all.

"Yes…what do you need me to do?"

* * *

To be continued...it'll be getting more into the movie verse of things now. Bruce will be back VERY soon. R&R please. Thanks a bunch!

Beezer


	14. Start the Ball Rolling

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Working two jobs is a pain. But I managed to come up with this. Its going to jump straight into the movie in the next chapter. So enjoy this and see RED EYE on Friday. Maybe I'll write a fanfic for that if you guys think I should. Let me know what you think. Laterz!**

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**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Start the Ball Rolling**

Few months had passed since her rape and Emmeline was starting to notice the change in Jonathan. Not that she hadn't noticed before, it's just that she thought he was just going through his own trial of it. But she didn't know what to think anymore. He was…different somehow, more preoccupied, more distant mentally. He was at work constantly and never seemed to be at home anymore not even when he _was _home. His mind was always a million miles away, working on something else and his eyes…his normally warm blue eyes were so…distant. They were still the same warm blue but there was just…something else in them that she had never seen before.

She was having lunch with Rachel that afternoon, discussing her husband. "I don't know what you want me to say?" Rachel told her. "Jonathan doesn't like me much anymore. He hates me."

"He does _not_ hate you," Emmeline countered and left a tip on the counter for the waitress. The two friends decided to sit and talk a while longer before going their separate ways. It'd been awhile since they were able to sit and chat.

"Yes he _does_, Emmy. It's okay. I know it as much as you do. When I see him at work he just walks right past me and never acknowledges me unless he has to…even then it's not the nicest conversation we ever had."

"I'm sorry," she deflated, giving into the truth.

"Don't be. He has every right to hate me."

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes he does."

"No, what happened couldn't have been stopped. It's not like it was planned."

Rachel was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry too."

"About what?" Emmy asked with a deep sigh, sipping at her iced tea.

"About Jonathan."

Emmy frowned and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "What do you mean?"

"The way he is…it's weird."

She shrugged modestly. "He's dealing with things a different way."

"It's not only that."

"What else is it?" Emmy asked, not liking the sudden change in the air around them. Rachel knew something Emmeline didn't.

"Nothing…it's just…Jonathan was the psychiatrist for two of these guys we had on trial for armed robberies and Jonathan said they weren't stable enough for trial. That they should be moved to Arkham for treatment."

Emmeline shrugged. "Then they weren't stable."

She laughed dryly. "No, if you met these two men you'd know they were perfectly capable of doing what they did on reason."

"Why would Jonathan lie, Rachel?" she questioned harshly. "What would he have to gain from it?"

Rachel took a deep breath and stared at the ground chewing her lower lip before looking up at Emmy with pity. "Em, those two guys worked for Falcone. The two Jonathan had put into the Asylum."

Emmeline blinked, processing the information. Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No," she stood up from the table and grabbed her purse. "I don't appreciate you insinuating that my husband, who I love, would ever work for Falcone, a man we _both _hate with a great passion. It's unbelievable, Rache."

Rachel stood up and grabbed Emmeline's arm. "It's just a thought."

"Well, it's a wrong thought," she snapped. "Jonathan would be offended to hear it and so am I."

"Emmy, I'm sorry," she apologized. "It was wrong of me to even think it."

"Damn right it was," she fished out her car keys and walked off. "I'll call you later after I settle down. Bye."

Emmeline left her standing there and headed home where she planned to call her husband to talk to him and prove that he wasn't anywhere near Falcone. To prove Rachel wrong and to stop that voice from saying how right she was in the back of her head.

* * *

Jonathan sat across from Falcone at one of Falcone's local restaurants near the docks in the Narrows. He wiped his hand across the table and found it to be remarkably clean for it being such a filthy place. Then again, this was Falcone's table. It was expected to be clean or the consequences would be harsh enough to make you wish you had scrubbed it with a fine toothcomb.

The ringleader sat across from him, two burly guys big enough to be wrestlers stood behind him, hands folded in front of them threateningly and staring hard at Jonathan. He met their eyes with the same vacantly cold stare, seemingly unfazed.

"What's this about, Dr. Crane? It sounded pretty urgent on the phone. I thought our deal was done."

"It is. Paul was taken care of."

"I hear he's insane now," Falcone chuckled and shook his head. "I have no idea how ya did it, but I'm impressed with it all. Couldn't have done much better than making him dead."

Jonathan cut straight to it. "I have a proposition for you now, too."

Truth was that phone call from Ra's Al Ghul had held more on his plate that he thought possible. Little by little he'd get it done…but he needed muscle to do it from the inside of the asylum, and there was only one man who could supply him with the right people. Much to his dislike, he had to make another bargain with Falcone and bury himself deeper into the darkness before he could get to the light.

"Really? What would that be now?" Falcone asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Jonathan adjusted his rimless glasses. "I can help you get your drugs into this city if you help me get my items into this city."

"What stuff?"

"Doesn't matter," Crane said with a shake of his head. "Either way, we win. You get your drugs and I get my things. Half of the drugs will have my items in them and they'll be cleaned in a warehouse and the drugs will be sent back to you. My boss wins."

"Your boss?"

Jonathan nodded with a creepy grin, one he was becoming used to, the one that never reached his brash eyes, the coldness that had crept into them the day of Starling's insanity.

"What's in it for me? I get my drugs in now as it is

"Yes but, see, my boss will pay you to do it and I'll continue getting your men out of jail if you do this and I'll keep my mouth shut about all your other business...you scratch my back and I scratch yours."

"You little sneak," he said with a smile and chuckled to Jonathan's relief. "All right tell your boss to send the drugs, your guys clean 'em and give 'em back to me for sellin'."

"He already knew you'd do it," Jonathan said and even that took Falcone by surprise. The big guy blinked hard and fidgeted in his seat. "The first shipment comes in tomorrow night. The stuffed bunnies go to room eighty in the Narrows at 2138 Cold Street and the bears are yours."

"Bunnies, bears?" he asked confused.

"He stuffed the bags in stuffed animals so they wouldn't be mixed up," Crane nodded.

Falcone smiled and shook his head. "Jesus, Crane. What would your wife think of this?"

Jonathan's lips tightened as he mentioned Emmeline. "She doesn't know everything. I'm keeping it that way."

"Good idea. She'd hate to find out she married a criminal after all…one that works for me of all people just like she used to. She was a _great _dancer by the way. I bet you're enjoying that a lot," he said with a grin.

Jonathan let out a deep breath. Falcone was only saying these things to get to him. It was his defense mechanism to get his power back after being made uncomfortable by Jonathan. He wouldn't let it get to him, he had bigger things in store for the man later on. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Falcone," Jonathan said and stood up with his briefcase. One of his fingers traced the trigger button on the side, itching to push it.

Falcone stood up also. "I'll be in touch with who you're to get off. I can be certain Victor Zsasz will be the first of your line-up to be moved."

"Let me know," Jonathan said, making a mental note to ask the judge about Mr. Zsasz. He'd be a welcomed addition to his experiment in the basement to get the "medicine" distributed to the city.

Jonathan walked away and dialed a number into his cell phone. The person picked up on the third ring. "Yes?"

"It's done," Jonathan told Ra's.

"Good…you have another problem coming your way."

"What?"

'There's a letter waiting for you at home. Read through it, you'll understand soon. There's a dark figure coming your way and he will try to ruin our plans to cleanse the city for ransom."

"I'm not sure of the ransom part."

"No worries, Mr. Crane. Read the letter and be cautious your new arrival." The phone clicked on the other end and Jonathan was about to tuck it into his pocket when it rang again.

He sighed deeply and retrieved back from his inner pocket. Emmeline's name was flashing on the screen. His lip twitched slightly at the thought of who he was just bargaining with moments before. He cleared his throat and hit talk, putting the phone to his ear. "Hi honey."

"Hey," she replied back. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," he said to her as Falcone's car drove away. "I was just having a meeting with one of my clients."

"Did I disturb you? Should I call back later?"

"No, no. It's over now," he told her.

"Oh okay. I just got back from lunch," she said. The tone in her voice let him know something was on her mind. She sounded preoccupied with something.

"What's wrong, dear?" he asked as he unlocked his car and set his briefcase next to him in the passenger seat.

"Nothing," she answered quickly. "Why would you think something's wrong?"

He could see her biting at her thumbnail. She always did that when she was nervous. "Well, I have been married to you for six years and with you for seven. I know your habits and tones…stop biting your nails and tell me what's wrong."

There was silence on the other end for a moment and he could imagine her scowling into the phone. "I hate it when you know what I'm doing."

"It's my job," he told her as he started the car and drove off to their apartment, fifteen minutes out of the way. "What's on your mind?"

"It's just something Rachel said."

He took a deep breath at the name. "What did she say?"

"She said something completely stupid and irrational, is all. She made this assumption that you were doing more than it appeared to be."

"I'm not having an affair if that's what she's assuming. I'd have no reason with a lady like you to come home to every night."

He could picture her smile shyly as she always did when he commented her. "She didn't say that. She said she thought you might be…" her heard her let out a deep sigh that sounded like raspy wind through the phone. "You might be working for Falcone."

Jonathan gripped the steering wheel tight. Of all the people, Rachel was catching on. How coincidental? "Why would she think something as strange as that? We both hate Falcone."

"That's what I told her," she said and he breathed a sigh of reprieve that his wife didn't believe Rachel's words. "I said that o her and I was angry with her even if she did say that two of the men you had moved into your asylum were Falcone's boys."

His jaw tightened at the words and he had to force them to sound natural. "She said that?"

"Yes, and I told her you wouldn't have done it without reasonable cause."

"You're right. If I recall correctly, both of those men suffered from different symptoms. One had symptoms of schizophrenia and the other bipolar disorder. I'd be more than happy to show you my files if you want to see them. That way you don't have to worry about anything Ms. Dawes says."

"I'm sorry if I upset you, it just bugged me that she said it. I love you. I just needed to hear you say it."

"I love you, too. I'm on my way home right now. When I get home we can talk more about this if you want."

"All right," she said. "I'll see you in a few then."

"Okay sweetheart, bye." He hung up his cell phone and chucked it I the passenger seat. He stared hard out the windshield, jaw tight, eyes frozen. It seemed to him that Ms Dawes was going to be a growing problem for him if she kept making these assumptions, especially if she kept making them to Emmeline. He'd have to deal with her later, right now, he wanted to deal with Falcone and deal with the biggest problem first.

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More to come soon…next will be the Victor Zsasz trial that we all know from the movie  


	15. Assumptions

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, my Internet was weirded out for a while. Good news though,a few chapters are done because I had them done from the beginning. The end is my biggest problem because I have two different ones. One that leads to a spin-off and one that ends it…I have no idea what I'm going to do but I'll worry about that later. Enjoy the beginning of the movie verse. Some of the lines have been changed or added onto due to the story plot but most are recognizable. I'll think of the Red Eye fic since I'm getting some request for that.**

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**CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Assumptions**

Rachel sat at the table in the courtroom listening to her best friend's husband give his testimony on the Victor Zsasz case. She sat there, leg bouncing nervously under the table and chewing on her lower lip, hoping to God this wouldn't happen to her again. Crane had already gotten two of her previous cases out of prison time and into the asylum, dubbing them insane and unable to rehabilitate anywhere else but there. He had done it two times previous to that on separate cases over the last three months. He wouldn't do this to her, not to someone he'd known for seven years, no matter how much he dislike her at the moment. He wouldn't do it.

Rachel glanced over her shoulder at the public benches. Emmeline sat there, head leaning on her hand, watching intensely to see which way the ball dropped. They both had to be praying that it fell it Rachel's court. She brought her attention back to the stand just as Crane concluded his otherwise meaningless technical psychology terms to the sentence she was awaiting.

"In my opinion," he began and Rachel held her breath, "Mr. Zsasz is as much a danger to himself as to others."

Rachel felt the air deflate from her lungs, all hope of winning this case and sending Falcone's guy to prison was gone with his words. She had lost yet another case and found herself actually despising her friend's husband. She didn't look over at Emmeline, didn't want to see the dazed look on her face from her husband conclusion.

On the stand, Jonathan eyed the prisoner, as if some secret debt had been paid to do this, a secret only they knew and Rachel was sure it was true. As much as she hated to think of it, her best friend's husband was working for Falcone. If only she could get Emmeline to believe it, but memories of the last time she mentioned it replayed in her mind. It was best to keep her mouth shut and her assumptions to herself.

"Prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation," Crane concluded. "But he would be a welcome addition to our group at Arkham."

Rachel leaned her head into her hands and shook her head as the judge agreed to Jonathan's testimony. She had lost again. She heard Crane walk past her, heard him talking to his wife a few feet behind her but she didn't say a word to him. She wanted to knock some sense into him, but she couldn't do that without losing her job and her best friend because no matter what, he was still Emmeline's husband, for better or worse Emmeline loved him and would forever side with Jonathan. She grabbed her coat and case and stormed out of the courtroom, right past Emmeline, without thinking about it she ran down the marble steps towards Jonathan.

"Dr. Crane," she called out after him. It was only polite to call him by his well earned title, though she thought of three other names she wanted to call him that had nothing to do with his name but his behavior.

Jonathan stopped and turned around, eyebrows raised behind his glasses. "Yes, Miss Dawes?" Even he called her by proper title, though she couldn't remember the last time he called her Rachel. Since Emmeline's attack he dubbed her "Ms. Dawes", stripping her of any emotional or friendly contact. She remembered like it was just yesterday that she had helped him pick the suit out for his wedding, joking and laughing the entire way. But that was then…this was now.

"All friendship aside, do you seriously believe that Victor Zsasz shouldn't be in jail?"

"Our friendships been aside for months now, and I would hardly have testified to that otherwise, wouldn't I, Miss Dawes?"

Together they walked through the archway towards the adjoining building. "This is the third of my Carmine Falcone case thugs that you've seen fit to declare insane and moved into your asylum."

"You shouldn't really be surprised," Crane told her, not seemingly offended in the least bit. "The work offered by organized crime has an attraction for the insane." He turned his back on her and began walking away.

"Or the corrupt."

Jonathan stopped mid step and Rachel knew she hit a nerve in the man as his back tensed. But instead of turning to face her, he looked straight ahead at her boss. "Mr. Finch, I think you should check with Miss Dawes here. Just what implications has her office authorized her to make? If any."

Crane walked off with his head high, having got the last card on her. Rachel's eyes narrowed at his back as her boss pulled her aside. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" she growled.

"Looking out for you," he guided her back the other direction. "Rachel, Falcone's got half the city in the palm of his hand. They're all paid off…I suggest you drop it."

"How can you say that?"

He ran a hand through his dark hair nervously. "Because as much as I care about getting Falcone, I care more about you."

She touched his cheek gently. They had dated but briefly a few months back, right before Emmeline's rape. She loved Carl, but her heart was still somewhere else, with a boy who had disappeared. "That's sweet, but we've been through this."

"Then talk to Emmeline if you're that concerned about Dr. Crane. After all, she's your best friend and she's married to him."

"Exactly why it's a problem to talk to her. She's _my _best friend and she's _married _to Jonathan Crane. I can't tell her that I think her husband's working for the man she hates the most. She won't believe me because she can't. She loves him too much."

"Try talking to her," Carl said softly. "It's the least you can do. See if she's noticed anything. Do it without telling her about Falcone."

Rachel nodded in agreement. She'd have to talk to Emmeline about this. She looked up in time to see her friend coming out of the courtroom and heading towards the front. She gave Carl a quick innocent kiss on the cheek and hurried after her. Never noticing the "bum" outside near the payphones, watching her the entire time.

"Emmy, wait up! Can I get a ride?"

Emmeline paused for her friend, knowing what a bitch heels could be. "Sure. What's up Rach?"

"Your husband is what's up," Rachel said bluntly and kicked herself for it. She would have been offended by her own statement, but Emmeline wasn't.

"I know. I noticed he got Victor off too, I was there," Emmy snorted. "That came to be a surprise to me as much as it was to you."

"So you knew Zsasz wasn't insane?"

"Yup, all evidence pointed to him premeditating the plan. No insane person premeditates anything. They do it spontaneously, in the heat of the moment. This guy had it planned to the T for days. He wasn't insane," Emmeline told her as they reached her car.

"Then why did Jonathan declare him insane?"

Emmeline unlocked the door and opened it with a shrug. "I don't know. But I don't think it has to do with Falcone. I refuse to believe that. There has to be something else. Something at the asylum," she said somberly. She leaned over and unlocked the passenger side for Rachel to slide into.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked and buckled up.

"He's been working late again. Staying at the asylum until midnight, sometimes later. But never earlier than eight. Even then he'll lock himself up his office and work some more on something," she said and glanced in the review mirror to notice a black car following her. She felt she recognized the driver and then found remembered where she saw him.

"What's he doing in there?"

"I'll hear him on the phone sometimes, talking to someone," she said, eyeing her mirror. "I hear him playing around with something…sounds like its metal. I've heard him have coughing fits in there a few times and when I ask him if there's something wrong he tells me to just go away and leave him alone. He comes out looking red eyed and pale and…scared even."

"What?" Rachel asked in confusion as they came to a stop in front of Rachel's apartment building.

"Yeah, it's weird. He's been acting different. Like it's not Jonathan entirely."

"What do you mean?" she undid her seat belt and sat there.

Emmeline shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know. But I do know one thing though."  
"What's that?"

"He's changing…he's not the man I married, not completely anymore. Something's going on with him."

"But what?"

Emmeline shook her head and thought of his office, all the time he spent in there. There had to be something in there, something in his cabinets that held all the answers. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"How?"

"It's better if you don't know. That way Jonathan can't assume anything of you. Anything I do wrong nowadays seems to get shifted to you. It's better you stay out of this one."

She chewed her lower lip. "Maybe…just maybe it has to do with Falcone."

Emmeline was quick to shake her head. "No…this is something entirely different from Falcone. Jonathan hates him too much to ever work for him. This is bigger I think."

"Nothing is bigger than Falcone."

"This is," Emmeline said seriously, her green eyes meeting Rachel's. "By the way, you might want to lock your doors."

"Why?" Rachel asked as she opened the car door.

"I don't know if you noticed, but there was a bum outside the courthouse who was watching you pretty closely. And we had a black Rolls following us to this point. It just left from its parked spot across the street and the same guy was in the car."

Rachel shifted in her seat nervously.

"Do you want to stay at my place?"

"I'm safer here than I am around Jonathan."

Emmeline chuckled. "All right, just call me if anything happens or if you need someone."

Rachel nodded and hot out of the car then leaned her head back in. "When are you going to find out about Jonathan?"

Emmy thought about it. "Soon. Not now but soon. I need time to decide on what I'm looking for."

"All right. I'll call you later," she closed the door and waved. Emmy waited until Rachel had disappeared inside and then took off. She wasn't thinking about Jonathan at the moment. She was thinking about the guy she saw following Rachel. She recognized him all right, but he was anything but a threat to Rachel. At least not to her psychical health as much as her emotional. It wasn't a bum stalking her outside he courthouse, it was a mad serial killer, it was Bruce Wayne. After ten years he was back and still in love with Rachel.

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OoOo bound to get more interesting...


	16. Cause & Effect

A/N: I wrote this one up real quick for you dedicated readers. Well, I'm off to work and then I'm catching Red Eye…again…laterz!

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Cause and Effect**

Jonathan had headed straight out of the courthouse in an angry shuffle of feet. Rachel was getting a little too close for comfort and was going to ruin his entire plan of bringing done Falcone if she kept pushing. He had to do something to push her away. Something to just frighten her off and keep her off his trail. That was the only reason he was meeting with the hated man in his office. Falcone sat in back of mahogany desk in a comfortable overstuffed leather chair reclining in it while Jonathan was stuck in the wooden one that's soul purpose was to make its occupant fidget for its owners amusement. Jonathan refused to give him that.

"No more favors Falcone," Crane said to him quietly. "Someone is sniffing around."

"Hey, Doc. Remember how it works? I scratch your back, you scratch mine. I'm bringing in your shipments."

"We're paying you for that," he told him, regarding the drugs that were brought in to the city in order for Crane to get his toxins from them. They had discussed that two weeks ago and Crane had now gotten three of his thugs out of prison. He as beginning to feel it was a mistake to even come here. He wasn't playing on Al Ghul's favor right now but his own to keep Rachel out of it and safe before she dug so deep that Falcone noticed.

"Maybe money isn't as interesting to me as favors," Falcone said with a smug grin on his wrinkled face.

Crane leaned forward a bit and removed his glasses. He'd been nervous a minute ago but all traces of that were gone. He hated having to deal with Falcone but he was in deeper with him now than he could get out of and for his future plans sake, he had to stay on the man's good graces in order to fix Gotham. "I'm aware that you're not intimidated by me. But you know who I'm working for and when he gets here-"

That caught the mans attention. He sat bolt upright in his chair. "_He's_ coming to Gotham."

"Yes, and he's not going to want to hear that you've endangered our operation just to get your _thugs_ out of jail time."

Falcone let out a sigh. But his lip gave a twitch, Jonathan knew those words had gotten to the old man. His fears were being played on. He couldn't help but to smile a bit in the pride he took from it.

"Okay, who's botherin' you?"

"There's this girl in the D.A.'s office."

"We'll buy her off."

He shook his head, knowing Rachel all too well. "Not this one."

"Oh…she's an idealist. Well, there's an answer for that, too," Falcone gave a heartless smile. He'd kill a four year old to get his way if he had to. Rachel would be of no problem for him and only then did Jonathan realize what he'd done.

His lip twitched slightly at the word. He was once an idealist for the city, trying to make the bad things good, trying to save this place. He was up until his wife was injured five months ago. He lost all hope of the city then and decided to try things from a new approach. A very new approach that benefited him, his work, and even kept the criminals from doing more damage.

"I don't want to know what you're going to do," he shook his head again. He had set up the disaster plot for his wife's best friend. He had no intentions of having her harmed in any way, but the smile Falcone gave him told him things would turn out to be an "accident".

"Yes, you do."

Jonathan took a deep breath, not looking forward to what the crime lord had to say.

Jonathan couldn't relax, couldn't even consider the thought of it. He had just gotten home from work and had barely taken of his shoes and jacket, loosened his tie when the thoughts of what he had done still pounded through his head. He had signed Rachel's death certificate by talking to Falcone about it. What the hell was he thinking? That Falcone would just give her a scare and let her be on her merry way? That wasn't the way this man worked. He planned to kill Rachel and eliminate her curiosity once and for all. Jonathan despised Rachel, but it didn't mean he wanted her dead. Far from the truth.

He took a sip from the beer bottle in his hand and stared blankly at the TV, not even sure what channel it was on or what program was currently playing. He was too absorbed in his thoughts. This wasn't part of Ra's Al Ghul's plan, it wasn't anywhere in the agenda to have Rachel killed. In no one's but Falcone's and Jonathan felt guilty for having penciled it in.

He glanced at his Rolex nervously. It was only a little past eight. The last of his month shipment with Falcone should be coming into port shortly. In forty-five minutes it should be delivered to the Narrows to be filtered then sent to the asylum to be dumped. He no longer needed it for his wrist gadget. He rubbed at his now bare wrist, it was locked tightly away in his briefcase that lay behind the locked door to his office. He'd created it a month ago while doing overtime at Arkham. It was better than having to carry his briefcase around all the time. This way he could conceal the mask in his suit and carry the gas on his wrist. Easy to transport, easy to conceal, and easy to distribute onto others. Having been gassed himself a few times, he was now trying to come up with an anti-panic serum. That way the person injected with it wouldn't feel the effects of the gas…especially once Ra's plan was pulled out. There were certain people Jonathan didn't want to be infected like Emmeline and Russ and Rachel…

She'd still be at work. He could call her and warn her…but that would make him look suspicious. He could have Emmeline pick her up…but if Falcone's thugs were waiting for her outside of work they could harm Emmeline. He didn't want her going through anymore than she already had and if he picked her up Falcone would know and wouldn't be too happy. He let out a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. He was screwed either way.

"Baby, are you okay?" Emmeline's hand slid across his chest as she leaned over the couch to touch him.

"I'm fine," he nodded and took a nervous drink from the bottle.

Emmeline's other hand went to his shoulder and she felt his bunched up muscles. "Damn, Jonathan, you're all tense. Are you sure you're okay?" she started rubbing at his shoulders.

"Work…" he said quickly. "Work has me all wound up."

She smiled and kissed the side of his face, her arm encircling him as she removed the bottle from his hand and his glasses from his face, undoing his work shirt as she did so. "I can think of a way to fix that."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"It's been months Jonathan and you ask me that every time and every time," she kissed his throat, inching her way to his lips speaking one word per kiss. "I. Tell. You. Yes."

He smiled and reached around behind him, grabbing her waist and pulling her forward, twisting her into his lap so she sat there. She laughed infectiously as he did it and he couldn't help but smile. "If you want to?"

She glanced at his lap and wiggled her eyebrows at him. "And you don't?"

"Pervert," he said with a smile and carried her to the bedroom.

"Takes one to know one," she smiled and kicked the door closed with her foot.

The minute they hit the bed all thoughts of Rachel's safety escaped him. The only thing in the world was him and Emmeline…and the mask and toxin that lay behind his office door.

The phone in their room rang an hour later and Emmeline rolled over from where she had been cuddled next to Jonathan, preparing for round two, to the phone on her nightstand. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Em, it's Rachel," her friend said. "Don't you ever answer your cell."

"It's in the kitchen, I'm in the bedroom."

"Sorry to interrupt."

"What's up?"

"It's Falcone," Rachel said and the excitement in her voice caused Emmy to sit up gripping the sheets to her chest.

"What about Falcone?" That caused Jonathan to sit up next to her, staring at her with questioning blue eyes looking both curious but concerned.

"He's been arrested, Emmy. They caught him on a drug bust from the port that brought a load of drugs in from China. They busted him and confiscated everything on that ship."

"Arrested?"

"What?" Jonathan repeated besides her looking suddenly afraid. That caused Emmy to frown but she went back to her conversation.

"You have a case against Falcone?" Emmy said in awe.

"Yes and Judge Faden. I've got it all."

"How the hell did you mange that?"

"From the bat guy?"

"What bat guy?"

"Bat guy," Jonathan mumbled and reached for his boxers. She watched as he stood out of bed and threw on a pair of sweats.

"This guy in a bat suit. He gave me evidence on Faden. It's a long story. I was almost mugged tonight and-"

"You were almost mugged?" Emmy exclaimed and Jonathan paused, spinning around to look at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The bat guy saved me then gave me the pictures."

"You sure you're fine," Emmy let out a sigh of relief and so did Jonathan, but he seemed more relieved, like the weight of the world had been lifted from him. But why?

"Yes. Listen, I'll explain everything in the morning. I gotta go. I gotta get this written up by tomorrow."

Emmy said goodbye and hung up, throwing a shirt and sweats on. "Jonathan, what's wrong?"

"Huh," he blinked and shook his head, having been a million miles away. "Nothing," he ran his fingers through his hair. "What happened?"

"Apparently Falcone's been arrested on drug smuggling charges. They busted him for bringing it in and confiscated all the drugs."

"All of them?" he pressed his lips into a tight line.

"Yeah, baby, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he nodded. "I just need to go make a couple phone calls about this. There's no doubt the asylum will be buzzing with it. I have to make sure everything is stable over there."

"Okay," she said softly with a frown. He didn't even kiss her before he left the room. Just left her standing there, empty and lone. She heard his office door close and heard the familiar click as the lock was slid into place. Music played faintly from the room to cover the phone call and Emmy found herself growing curious about what he had hidden back there. It had to be more than she had thought. She had lost interest for a while, he had been acting normal again, but now he was acting strange and the weird light in his eyes was steadily getting brighter once more…but what was it.

Emmeline sat on the end of her bed and buried her face in her hands, doing her hardest not to cry with the frustration and feelings of loss she was beginning to feel.

MORE TO COME SOON! R&R IN THE MEANTIME BECAUSE I'M STILL TRYING TO COME UP WITH AN ENDING TO THIS WHOLE THING!


	17. Unravel

AN: Sorry its taken me so long to write a chapter. I wasn't sure how to end this one but I came up with something good to lead into my next one. Thank you for all the reviews, I hope none of you are disappointed by the final ending to the entire story which isn't close yet. We're barely on Bruce's return but it's picking up fast. Enjoy this!

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**CHAPTER 17 - Unravel**

Emmeline followed behind Carl and Rachel and her brother and his wife as they walked up the steps into Puccio's for dinner, Jonathans treat. He felt compelled to buy dinner for the young D.A. and her boss after guilt drove him to do it. He, after all, was responsible for her near mugging which would have led to her certain death if the Batman fellow hadn't shown up. But the Batman alone was causing him enough trouble as it was. He had interrupted the last shipment of his drugs as well as Falcone's. His boss was not happy to hear it and informed him to be wary of this new superhero. Apparently, his boss knew who this masked man was. That only intrigued Jonathan further. He wanted to know all about this man, but for now, he had other things to deal with. He gave his wife a smile as they headed up the stairs. She smiled back, seemingly happy for a change after he had disappeared into his office the other night to talk to Ra's. When he came back into the room an hour later she was sound asleep but her pillow was wet with the tears she had spilled because of him, adding to his guilt.

As they were walking in, Rachel accidentally bumped into a guest, shoulder hitting against the other gentleman's from her lack of attention to her surroundings. She had ben a million miles away in her own head and Jonathan wondered if it had anything to do with her attack or with the fact that her ex love, Bruce Wayne was back in town. His entire psychological education was betting on the latter.

"Excuse me," her mouth dropped open as she froze in mid apology at the fellow she bumped into. They all froze. "Bruce?"

"Rachel?"

"I heard you were back. What are you doing here?"

Carl glanced at the two of them and shifted awkwardly. "I'm going to go get our table. Take your time," he told Rachel, giving her elbow a gentle squeeze before going inside.

"We'll just go along with him," Russell said, not even acknowledging Bruce's presents. He wasn't exactly on Russ's favorite list.

"I should go with them so you two can talk," Emmeline said until Rachel stopped her.

"No, stay Emmy. You and Jonathan can stay."

Emmy mouthed the words "okay" and paused on the step above Rachel, Jonathan next to her, still holding her hand, shocked that Rachel had wanted _him_ to stay.

"Just," Bruce paused to think and looked at his wet clothes, "swimming. It's good to see. You too, Emmy."

"Likewise, Bruce. Its been a long time."

He gestured at her wedding ring. "I guess it has. How long have you been married?"

"Six years," she told him.

He glanced at Jonathan and held his hand out to him with his billion dollar smile. "Bruce Wayne."

Jonathan nodded but made no attempt to shake his hand. "Dr. Jonathan Crane."

Bruce dropped his hand after a second and nodded. "Doctor?"

"Jonathan is the youngest psychiatrist to ever run Arkham Asylum," Emmeline said, defending her husband's image. She didn't like the look in Bruce's eyes. "He's trying to find new ways to heal Gotham, you can say, which is more than some people have done."

"You flatter me, honey," Jonathan said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes but was more automatic, and kissed her cheek.

"Good for you, Dr. Crane," Bruce said with a smile still though Emmeline and Rachel knew that tone to be one of least consideration.

"You were gone a long time, Bruce," Rachel said, butting into it.

"I know. How are things with you, Rachel?"

"The same. The job's getting worse."

"You can't change the world on your own," Bruce said with a shrug and the same playboy smile.

"No, I guess not…but what choice do I have when you're busy swimming."

Jonathan gave a smug smile and even Emmy smiled a bit at Rachel's bluntness. If anyone deserved it, it was Bruce for the hardships he put Rachel through when he left.

Bruce sighed. "Rachel, all this," he gestured at the car and the girl's waiting for him. "It not all I am. Inside, I'm different."

The girls called for Bruce then from the car, wanting to buy more hotels. Rachel shook her head. "Deep down you may be the same great kid you used to be, but it's not who you are underneath – it's what you do that defines you."

Rachel turned on her heels and went inside. Emmeline followed her, waiting for Jonathan. He gave Bruce an amused smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wayne. We must do this again sometime."

Emmeline shook her head as her husband followed her inside where they met Carl and Rachel at their table and sat for what would hopefully be a quiet uneventful dinner.

"Everything all right?" Carl asked Rachel as she took her seat next to him.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded. Emmeline knew a major conflict was storming like a hurricane inside her best friends head. The sudden arrival of Bruce was twisting her emotions around, especially after she had finally shown progress in getting over him. Now he was there, bringing the mess he left with him back in a rush that neither Emmy nor her brother had the heart to forgive him for…especially Russ.

"He seems to be doing well for himself," Russ snorted, sipping his champagne. "You can take the boy of the city but you can't take the city out of the boy."

"Bruce was never part of the city," Rachel said. "That's the problem. He does nothing to help Gotham."

"We all have our different methods of helping Gotham," Jonathan added in, speaking for the first time in months to Rachel directly without her having to provoke him. Rachel's eyes widened slightly as she tried to hide her surprise. Emmy even turned her head to the right to make sure she was actually hearing this correctly. "Although I haven't seen Mr. Wayne put forth much effort. I signed a pension a few days ago to try and get him to donate to Arkham and the police station. He generously refused it."

"You must have been happy to meet the ass tonight," Russ said with a grin. Unlike Rachel and Jonathan, he and Russ managed to get along better over the years.

"It was a joy able experience," Jonathan smiled though the seriousness stayed in his eyes causing Emmy to squirm in her seat.

"At least for you it was," Rachel said and took a long swallow from her wine glass, trying to wash the memory of Bruce away with the alcohol.

Carl eased the glass from her with a careful smile. "Let's take it easy with that. Let's make it a good night."

Rachel eyed Jonathan with dagger glances. "Yes, let's."

He only smiled in response to Emmy's relief but it didn't touch his eyes the way it should have. Emmy fought a shiver and returned to more pleasant conversation until dinner arrived. It went by with much ease but it was the after dinner conversation that started to heat back up.  
"Work always sucks," Russ shrugged as they discussed the topic of jobs. "Depending on the customer. Being manager of a CD store still isn't much of a difference for me."

"You manage Circuit City and they're moving you up to the headquarters. You wear a suit and tie now," Emmy argued with him. "And you gotta admit, your pay is way better."

"And the benefits,'" Bridget added on with a sip from her glass. "I love the benefits and your hours. I get to see you more and so do the kids."

"I wish I had the hours," Emmy snorted. "I mean, I do nowadays ever since…" she glanced around the table and saw the pity looks. God, how she hated that. They still pitied her for her attack. "Ever since the accident I get out earlier but Jonathan doesn't."

He shrugged modestly. "It's expected when you run Arkham on low funds. I'm needed there day or night no matter the hour."

"I'm just saying it sucks," she patted his thigh.

"It also sucks," Rachel went on and Emmy held her breath. This couldn't be good, "when most of the criminals you try ti imprison get stamped mentally insane and shipped off to an asylum."

Jonathan's lip twitched slightly but he smiled nonetheless. "It's my job to thoroughly examine each of your potential criminals and see if they're stable enough to be imprisoned."

"And you've seen fit to dub a good five or six of them insane."

"I'm just doing my part to help Gotham and speed the process of putting away criminals where they belong," he told her modestly, spreading his hands in innocence.

"You don't actually help the process of imprisoning people, Jonathan," Rachel argued.

Emmy's eyes widened and her hand stayed on his thigh, waiting to see her husband's response to the woman he hated the most. She was half waiting for him to spit venom back by mentioning how she never helped the process of Emmy's safety and his child's, but instead Jonathan sighed and took a sip from his champagne glass. "Let me make it up to you, Rachel. I will go through my patients again tomorrow and those I see fit of Falcone's men, I'll declare no longer insane. I'll testify that they feigned it, if I must. But I'll see what I can do. I can promise one or two back."

Rachel blinked even Emmy was shocked. Not only had he been kind but he used Rachel's name, meaning he considered her a friend. Both girls had been expecting an attack, especially Rachel. She stared in shock. "Why?"

"I feel I owe you that much after the last trial we went through."

"Thank you…I'd- I'd appreciate that. It would help with the case against Falcone."

Rachel blinked a few times as if not fully understanding the words he just told her. She was taking it as a step towards regaining their astrayed friendship, exactly what he hoped she'd do. Truth was, he had to do it now because Falcone was going to pull a stunt for the insanity plea sooner than later and call him in to get him off. Which meant Crane would have to do what he must to see it through. At least Rachel would like him for the time being, not that he cared. But it would make Emmeline happy, he wanted to keep her that way. At least for now.

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"That went really well," Jonathan said as he let his wife in through the front door first.

She nodded her head, chucking her purse onto the counter and removing her shoes at the same time, placing them near the closet before hanging up her coat. "_Really _well. You did good tonight."

"I do well with people every night," he told her modestly.

"Not with Bruce so much," she teased.

"The billionaire baby had it coming after his comments and looks at me, not to mention you and Rachel."

She shook her head and wrapped her arms behind his neck. "I meant with Rachel. You treated her decently for the first time in months. You were polite, respectful, and God is shocked, you were friendly. You even smiled."

"I always smile," he countered her.

"Yeah, you always smile," hers faltered a little. "But not like you used to."

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Never mind," she shook her head. "It's nothing."

"No, tell me," he brushed a strand of hair from her face.

She backed up a little to the point only her hands were touching the back of his neck and there was more than a foot of space between them. She bit her bottom lip. "I mean…sometimes it seems like you're not there, Jonathan. You're here," she touched his torso, "physically. But you're not here," her hand slid to his temple, ruffling through his dark hair. "And you're not here," her hand slid to his chest, above his heart. "The man I love disappears."

"But I'm always here."

"No you're not, Jonathan. You stare off, like you're a million miles away and…"

"What?" he asked, demanding to know what she was talking about.

"Sometimes you seem like an entirely different person. Especially when I see you at work. You're not _you_. You're someone else. I can tell because of your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"They get distant, menacing even. The light isn't there anymore sometimes it just disappears all together like it did the night Rachel almost got mugged. You completely shut down and became someone else."

He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips. "It's just stress from work."

"Is that all it is?" she questioned, her hands slid from his neck completely. "Because you were like that a few months after my attack. When you started working later at work and here in your damn office, you acted funny each time you came out. You seemed paler, more distant. I remember because I tried to talk to you and you'd shrug away from me like you had no idea who I was. You kept saying you were fine over and over again. You scared the hell out of me, Jonathan."

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because we never talked about it and it seems to be stirring itself up a lot lately, especially after Zsasz's trial when I called you at the meeting? Who were you with?"

"Excuse me?" he blinked baffled by the question.

But Emmy head her ground and anger. She'd been waiting months to say something to Jonathan about this and he brought it up so why not let him hear all of it. "You heard what I said. After the trial you acted weird again, the same distant, arrogant, cocky way you've been acting sometimes…with that smile," she said it and he saw a shiver run through her. She couldn't stop it. That smiled scared her half the time because it wasn't her husband.

"What smile, Emmy?"

"You should know…it's the cold smile. The usual grin you give but…this time it doesn't touch your eyes, Jonathan. Your eyes…they stay so cold, the life seems drained of them…almost sinister."

This time she saw Jonathan shiver and take a deep breath. "It's just a smile, Emmeline."

"It's more than that, Jonathan. You're hiding from me and I want to know why. We both know Zsasz wasn't insane. I looked at his file. He was perfectly healthy and committed the crime on his own. It was pre mediated. So why let him off trial? Why put him in the asylum? What do you gain from it? Who else gains from it?"

"Emmeline, there's nothing going on," he put his hands on her waist and smiled. It was Jonathan, the light was there, not as bright, but there nonetheless which beat nothing. "I love you. It's just work, I promise. From now on it'll be different."

"Promise?" she sighed talking a deep breath. She felt exhausted and just wanted to go to bed and forget the fighting. It was getting her nowhere, he wouldn't budge and if he wouldn't budge it couldn't be a big deal.

"Yes," he kissed her softly. "Let's go to bed." He held he hand and guided her to the room but paused, Emmy's smile faltered as she heard the dreaded ringing coming from behind his office door. He was getting a call. Her eyes switched from the door to Jonathan. He was staring at it, jaw jutted to the side thinking about it.

Emmy touched his shoulder. "You promised…just let it go."

He glanced at her over his shoulder as it continued to ring for the fifth time. Each ring seemed to draw the light out of him further and further. "I need to get that."

"Jonathan," her voice became stricter. "You promised."

"I need to get that. I'll be there in a minute," with that he dropped her hand and went to the door, pulling out his keys and unlocking it before shutting the door behind him without so much as a glance at her. In that moment Emmeline felt her world unraveling thread by thread and she wasn't sure how many strings were left.

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OoO, its getting sooo much better. You can feel the tension building between the two and who knows what will happen between them...besides me of course, hehehe! Keep looking for updates and R&R in the meantime. Let me know what you think!


	18. I Own This Town

**A/N: Alright, new chapter up! I'm doing pretty well with this story now. Maybe I'll come up with a Red Eye idea soon. Enjoy this cjhapter. It may tae awhile for a new one.**

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**CHAPTER 18 – I Own This Town**

Jonathan rubbed his weary eyes before adjusting his glasses. Last nights argument with Emmeline had not gone over particularly well, in fact it ended up being awful. He'd walked away from her. Just turned his back and walked into his office. He'd never done that before, never to Emmeline. He couldn't even explain _why _he did it to her. It was like something else inside him controlled him. Something else made him follow the phone call and leave Emmeline. Of course, it had been Ra's on the phone. He'd be arriving shortly to make sure Batman didn't intervene with their plans any further. The very plans he wanted to reveal to Emmeline.

But he couldn't discuss his plans with her, not yet. She couldn't know what he was doing with the blue poppies or what the intentional plan for Gotham was. He had too much to jeopardize by doing so, including her life. He wouldn't risk her, he loved her too much to do so and if she felt he was changing, then it was hers to deal with. He knew he had changed, but it was too late to turn back from that voice, from his own creation.

The guards at the door buzzed him in when he presented his badge. He walked down the tiled hall, shoes clicking with every step. Another guard buzzed him in through the gate and he met with the warden.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Dr. Crane. I didn't mean to disturb you and your wife at home," she apologized as they walked together.

"Not at all," he sighed, remembering the phone call he received earlier on Falcone. When he went to kiss Emmeline good-bye she was rigid and hardly even smiled, she didn't even say a word, just let him walk away…like he had on her last night.

He pushed the thought away. "So he cut his wrists?"

The dark haired woman nodded. "Probably looking for an insanity plea, but if anything happened it'd be my ass," she said.

"Of course, better safe than sorry," he said with a small smile.

"He's in here," she gestured at the door they stopped in front of. "Would you like a guard to go in with you?"

"No, that won't be necessary," he shook his head. "The process is better done in private."

She nodded hesitantly. "Okay, but if you need anything a guard will be in this hall within earshot if you need help."

"Thank you warden," he said with a nod and entered the room. His smile fell off his face as he closed the door wondering what in God's name Falcone wanted this time. It was always something and he was getting peeved with the mob man. He was becoming more of a nuisance than a help, as if he ever had been. He sat at the Masonite table across from Falcone, a look of mild amusement on his face.

Falcone held up his bandaged wrists and spoke in a whining mocking tone laced with boredom. "Yeah, Dr. Crane. I can't take it anymore, it's all too much, the walls are closing in, blah blah blah," he let out a laugh and spoke in his normal voice. "Couple more days of this food it'll be true."

Crane leaned forward, hands folded in front of him. "What do you want?"

"I wanna know how you're gonna convince me to keep my mouth shut," he said with a smug smile. Even behind bars he was trying to keep his control on the city.

"About what? You don't know anything."

"Well, yeah, I do. For instance, I know you wouldn't want the cops taking a closer look at the drugs they seized. I know about your experiments with the inmates at your nuthouse. I know your wife knows nothing about what's going on. I don't get into business with someone without finding out their dirty little secrets. Those goons you hired…listen, I own the muscle in this town. I want in on this."

Crane's lip twitched slightly as he leaned forward a bit. "I already know what he'll say. That we should kill you."

Falcone smirked. "Even he can't touch me here. Not in my own town, not when I rule everything and everyone. Drug dealers, murderers…rapist," he said with a smile. "How do you think I handed you Paul? Who do you think hired Paul to do his business in the first place?"

Jonathan's eyes shot up, wide and blue, body tense at the mere mention of his wife's rapist. He was lying…he couldn't have planned this far ahead in time.

Falcone smiled. "That's right…I _wanted_ you to work for me. I always get what I want doc, one way or another, no matter how desperate I gotta get. I control everything and everyone in this town, they just don't realize it. You were an opportunity that fell into my lap. I didn't plan your mugging, I didn't plan Emmeline saving you, I didn't plan on you two fallin' in love, but it all worked out. I set up the events and you two played through them completely blind to it all. The rape was a ploy to get you…and I did…you just never realized it," he bravely leaned forward, inches from Crane, who still sat shocked with the news that Falcone had paid Paul to attack his wife to get to him. "Now, I've been smuggling your stuff in for the last three months, so whatever he's got planned, it's big. And I want in. Otherwise…there's plenty of my men out there willing to finish what Paul started."

Jonathan's shock fell with a new rise of anger. He took a deep breath as he looked away already knowing what he had to do, and wanted to do more than anything. He licked his lips in a quick motion and removed his glasses from his face, setting them on the table. "Would you like to see my mask?" He opened the case and pulled out the burlap sack with the breathing apparatus attached inside. He switched it on and held it up for Falcone to see. "I use it in my experiments. Probably not very frightening to a guy like you. But those crazies, they can't stand it," he whispered to him.

He slid the mask on and Falcone looked at him like he was insane. "Tell me, when did the nut take over the nuthouse?"

Crane hit the switch on the side of his briefcase, causing a puff of gas to stream out and into Falcone's face. Falcone gagged and coughed and then began screaming.

Crane stood up, looming over the man who had set up his wife's attack and then used it to get him to work for him. "They scream," he said, voice sounding mutilated and husky, "and they cry like you are now."

Falcone screamed and screamed, falling over in his chair to hurry to a corner. "They beg and the cry and they can't stand what they stare at. See, Falcone…you don't own this town, I do," Crane said while Falcone screamed, covering his face.

A knock on the door interrupted Jonathan. He pulled off the mask and placed it back in his case, shutting it and running his hands through his hair to make it look better. He placed his glasses back on and with one look and smile at Falcone he left the room.

The warden was there, staring at him in confusion. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, he got a bit wild and I left the room, but I'm afraid he isn't all right in the least bit," he gestured at the window so they warden could see Falcone curled in a ball under the table, rocking back and forth, screaming still. "It looks like a total psychotic breakdown."

"Could he be faking it?"

"No, not faking. Not that one. You'd better put him someplace where he can't hurt himself or others. I'll talk to the judge, see if I can't get him moved to a secure wing of Arkham. I can't treat him here. He's too far gone."

She nodded her head and glanced through the window where Falcone was hiding beneath the table rocking back and forth. Jonathan left the building then and got into his car. With a deep breath he pulled out his cell phone and hit the number he knew well. He waited until the other end picked up. "It's done. Falcone is no longer a problem."

"Very well. I didn't plan on that, but it suits the situation either way. He's no longer necessary."

"He was the one that had Emmeline attacked…that killed my…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the words. His free hand gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"I understand too well, Dr. Crane. There's one job that's essential at the moment however."

"What is it?"

"Quite simple actually."

Jonathan continued to listen to the voice on the other end as he occasionally thought of what he had just done to Falcone. He never noticed the smile that spread across his face and the liquid ice that entered his eyes.

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Dun dun dun...new chapter soon. I promise! R & R in the meantime


	19. Secrets

**A/N: Alright New chapter. I'm just writing them like crazy since I still don't have an end so enjoy these because if I don't get an ending it'll be awhile. And THANK YOU for the reviews. You guys are awesome!**

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**CHAPTER 19 - Secrets**

Emmeline stared at the door down the hall. She'd been staring at it ever since Jonathan left that morning, doing little things around the house, cleaning, vacuuming, watching TV. She even went out to eat and shopped a little but she always reverted back to that door and the secrets that were behind it. Everything she wanted to know, _needed _to know was right there, behind that door. She reached her hand into her pocket and took out the metal key for the second time. She had had Jonathan's key duplicated a month ago when she first became suspicious, but she'd never been able to bring herself to go in. Not until last night had she had the desire to even try.

She brushed her hand against the door and put the key in the lock, twisting it. The click seemed incredibly loud to her as it shifted. She put her hand on the knob, surprised at how cold it felt against her clammy skin. She shut her eyes and twisted it open, pushing the door. Emmy stepped inside and shut the door behind her, locking it again. She hadn't looked around yet, hadn't been able to do it.

With sluggish moves she twisted around and looked over her shoulder. It looked like a regular office to her. His desk was towards the back of the room, neat and orderly just like he was. A large bookcase was to the far right wall. She started over there first. Her fingers trailed along the spines of his books, never coming away with dust. Jonathan was too clean to have dust cover the place. Apparently he did a little cleaning himself. The books were mostly psychology books on mental illnesses and other disorders be it emotional or mental. He had a few plants sitting in open spaces. One was the average houseplant, still green and taken care of. But on the middle shelf was a row of flowers behind a glass case. She touched the glass and was shocked at how cold it was and how such gorgeous blue flowers could grow behind it. She had no idea why Jonathan was growing them though.

Emmy moved away from the case and towards his desk where he had left his lamp on. She sat in his cushiony office chair and looked around. The cabinet behind her held his scotch and liquor with clean crystal glasses set up next to the bottle holding the amber liquids. She wasn't much of a drinker and neither as Jonathan, but him having it there didn't surprise her much. They had liquor in the house, but it always lasted for months. She turned to his desk and looked at it.

His pens and pencils were neatly arranged in his holder. His papers were stacked at one corner and a framed picture of the two of them sat on the desk. She glanced over the photos. Another was of her and Russ and then one of Russ's family. There was one of her and Rachel surprisingly. She thought he hated Rachel enough to never have anything that remotely remind him of her in the room. But the last picture was heartbreaking. It was her sonogram sitting in a silver frame next to the picture of her and Jonathan. She smiled weakly, tears in her eyes and picked it up. Her little girl. She'd be two months old now. It surprised her that Jonathan had kept it. He'd been so excited at the doctor's office when they handed them the pictures. He couldn't wait to add other's to this one…and now it was the only picture they had of their child, their little girl.

She set it back on the desk and wiped at her eyes, thankful that it didn't hurt so much anymore. They could always have another child, she was sure of that. Though she'd always miss her first she couldn't do that to her second. Emmy reached down to the filing cabinet on the bottom left and pulled. It was locked. She glanced around his desk and found his paper clip holder. She took one out and undid it then stuck it in the lock. It clicked and she smiled, Russ had taught her well during his years of crime. At least it was something useful, liking breaking into her husband's office and going through his things to find out what he was hiding. Yup, couldn't get more useful than that.

The bottom drawer had nothing much in it. Just a few round disk about half an inch thick. It looked as if they attached to something due to the closed hole on the top. There were eight of them in the drawer, neatly ordered. Next to it was an arm brace…but Jonathan never had an injury and it didn't look like your average brace. Emmy held it up. It was big enough to fit around her wrist if she slid it on and the straps would go around her forearm like a brace, it wasn't heavy at all. Had Jonathan built this? She turned it around and saw the small tube where the disk fit in and the button on the end of it that acted like a trigger. There was a tube at the center of the wrist clasp. But for what reason? She set it back, not wanting to know.

Emmy was about to close the drawer when something caught her eye. Envelopes, worn out envelopes. She pulled one of the letters out. It was dated a month ago from China. Who did Jonathan know in China? His boss had gone there a few times but that was more than a month ago. She pulled out the letter and skimmed through it. Her curiosity deepened. Whoever wrote it wanted Jonathan's help but didn't say why. But what disturbed her the most was that the letter said Bruce was a threat. Bruce Wayne? A threat? How was that possible? How could he be a danger to Jonathan? The bottom was signed R.A.G. She knew no one with those initials. Emmy tucked the letter back into the envelope and closed the drawer, relocking it with her pin.

After it was safely closed, she started on the top drawer.

She pulled it open and was faced with rows of files with the names facing forward. Curiously, Emmy skimmed through the files and pulled one out on random. It was one of Falcone's boys. She opened it up and read the case file. It was one of the murders from a month ago. Emmy turned the pages to Jonathan's notes in the back, wondering what he had said about it.

"What the hell?" she whispered as she read through them. It was all Jonathan's writing but the words disturbed her a bit. _Patient 243A has quick reaction to a minimum dose of toxin 3B. It proves to be more effective than the last batch. _Emmy frowned as she read through the side effects. Trembling, shaking, screaming, hypervenalating, extreme paranoia. What was he giving this guy?

Emmeline tucked it away and pulled out another file. She read the case and found it to be one of Falcone's boys that was in for robbery. She skipped to the back on the copy of Jonathan's notes and felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Same notes, same side effects. She put the file back and pulled out a file from the back. It was marked SANE. Apparently Jonathan had kept his word and sent one back to Rachel this morning. She tucked the file away and was about to close the drawer when she saw something that made her heart stop.

Starling, Paul. It couldn't be…not him. There was only one Starling Emmy new. One Paul that haunted her dreams and still made her stomach twist and her abdomen throb in pain from the loss it received. With a shaking hand, Emmeline pulled it out and opened it. The case file mentioned everything Paul had done, including pictures pinned to the inside of different rapes he had committed, different girls but all with the same thing stripped from them. She turned the page ever so slowly, afraid to read Jonathan's notes. Jonathan had been his evaluator for another case. Paul was dubbed INSANE by reaction from childhood trauma. He was in the mental ward of Arkham and beyond medical or psychiatric medicine. In other words, he'd never get better. Now she felt the need for a drink.

"Jesus," Emmy whispered. The guy had been perfectly healthy when he raped her and those other women and suddenly he was catatonically insane after Jonathan evaluated him. What had he done to the guy? Sure, Emmy was glad he was far gone, but what had Jonathan done to him?

"EMMY!" she heard the front door close and gasped. Jonathan was home. She looked at her watch it was eight o'clock. "Honey, are you here? I wanted to apologize. Baby? You here?"

She quickly tucked the file away and shut it, locking it again. She stood up but as she did the phone rang and she jumped, holding back the scream she wanted to let out from the surprise. She glanced at the door, hearing Jonathan's hurried footsteps.

"Shit," she whispered and crawled underneath his desk, glad for it being large and deep. There was no way he could see her unless he looked under the desk. The front was blocked by a slab of wood; closed all the way around.

The door to his office opened and she saw Jonathan's legs a moment later as he stood behind his desk and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she hear her husband speak into the phone. She held her breath, too afraid to move.

"Yes…I just got home…I already told you about Falcone," Emmy's eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat. What about Falcone? Jonathan sunk into his chair and continued to talk. "Yes, I remember what we discussed…I don't know if I can get them to go along with it. They were Falcone's boys…Persuade them? I can do that," she saw Jonathan's hand reach down and unlock the bottom drawer, he removed the arm brace and two of the discs. "I can persuade them very well…I'll call you when it's done."

She heard the phone go back into the cradle and heard Jonathan sigh. Her lungs were burning for air from the short little gasps she was taking, now straight from fear. What was her husband doing?

She heard his briefcase open and heard him unlock the top drawer. The filing cabinet opened and he placed another file in with the others before locking it once more. Jonathan stood back up. Something fell to the floor and Emmy gasped slightly. It was a mask, a burlap sack mask with holes cut in where the eyes would go.

"Shit," Jonathan mumbled and bent down.

This is it, Emmy thought. He's gonna see me here, he's going to bend down and see me hiding under his desk. But only his arm and shoulder came into view, never his face. He picked up the mask and she caught sight of the brace on his wrist under his suit. You could hardly tell it was there, but his sleeve rode up, flashing the disc figure and the metal.

Jonathan stood back up and seconds later he left the office, locking the door behind him. She heard the front door close a few minutes later. He was gone. Emmy stayed huddled under the desk, legs pressed to her chest, trembling and breathing hard, unable to believe anything. Who was she married to? What was her husband doing?

She waited fifteen minutes that ticked by like years before she figured he wasn't coming back. She crawled out from under the desk and sat in his chair in complete shock. That hadn't just happened. She had imagined everything. What would her husband need with a mask? And what had happened to Falcone? Who the fuck was on the phone? She was starting to become upset with the secrets he was keeping from her.

She took the paper clip she still clutched in her hand and unlocked the top cabinet. She fingered through the files and names and stopped, there it was…Falcone's file. It hadn't been there earlier. She pulled it out and turned to Jonathan's notes. Complete mental breakdown after introduction to toxin. No response to sound or light. Falcone was as lost as Starling with no chance of recovery unlike the others. She read through more and the file fell from her hands onto the desk. Job complete, no more orders…Jonathan had worked for Falcone. The one person they swore never to work for, he had worked for…Rachel had been right.

Emmy left the office, not bothering to lock it. She moved over to the couch and collapsed on it, too in shock to cry. He was keeping more secrets from her and she felt like she was losing him for good. She buried her face in her hands and sat there, waiting for her husband to return home for a final show down.

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**OoOOooO…This is getting too good. The suspense is killing me and I'm writing it. Wait till you find found out what happens. It'll skip through a few days after the whole Bruce gets gassed thing and Rachel meets up with Jonathan at Arkham, but it'll be worth it…trust me.**


	20. Showdown

**A/N: I love all my reviews. In fact, I liked them so much, I decided to post another chapter...Damn, this is gonna get pretty gruseome betwen Em and Crane…ENJOY!**

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**CHAPTER 20 - Showdown**

The Narrows were even worse to the eye at night then they were during the day. The day chased the bums and dealers back into the rat holes they crawled out of, making it just above shitty. But at night the place was scattered with them. Empty bottles and garbage of all colors and kinds littered the streets with the occasional needle and puffed down joint. Scattered with bums looking for a little cash and hit and dealers looking for a seller and strung out junkie to sell to. Couple arguing could be heard from every corner, cop sirens were a lullaby and sewage smoke rising from the sewers decorated the air. The lights were dimly on, most blinked on off while others gave off a sickly yellow light to match the atmosphere. Many of the apartment buildings were dark, windows locked tight with the occasional flicker of an old television set from inside. No one looked out their window, no one spied from their balcony, no one cared if a scream was heard or not or what their neighbor was doing,

It was the perfect place to have a building used for drug fixing. At least for Jonathan it was as he and his men climbed up the staircase to room eighty on the fifth floor of Cold Street. It was named properly in Jonathan's opinion as his shoes crunched broken glass. His face twisted in disgust as he flashed his flashlight around the place with a shake of his head, glad to be living up town and not in a dump like this. He hated coming here. He only had to once before to make sure the goons Falcone hired knew what they were doing. But now he was here for an entirely different purpose. Destroy everything before Batman found out about it. Ra's instructions were specific to that. He hated this Batman for some reason, a personal grudge from what Jonathan could tell, with a hate that ran deep. He didn't question Ra's on it, just did as he was told, which was the only reason he was here now.

He unlocked the door to room eighty and pushed it open. For a moment he thought he heard a noise but cast it aside. It was the Narrows, there was always noise, be it a rat, bum or hooker, there was always something going on.

Jonathan swirled the flashlight around, illuminating the torn stuffed animals that sat in the beat up blue chair. "Get rid of all traces," he told the four men. They nodded and started to work. He couldn't help but to smile at their obedience. They hadn't wanted to at first, none of them had after Falcone had been arrested. It had took a bit of persuading and a little demonstration of his toxin on a few of the true followers of Falcone to sway the rest to join. After they saw what effect it had on the others, they were quick to help Jonathan in any way possible to avoid such a fate.

"Better torch the place," one of the goons said and pulled out a bottle of amber liquid from his coat and doused the toys in it. The smell of gasoline filled the air and Jonathan turned his head away from it, scrunching his nose against the smell.

He frowned slightly at the open window and moved over to it, looking up and then down at the fire escape. The window should have been closed. He knew then someone had been in there and, from the sound of crashing glass in the bathroom; they weren't alone. Jonathan spun at the sound as another went to investigate, holding up a lighter to see.

"Idiot," Jonathan mumbled and moved into the shadows, removing his mask from his jacket pocket and tucking his glasses away. He slid the mask on and adjusted the brace on his wrist…waiting.

Just as he hoped, Batman revealed himself, taking out one of the goons. He turned to confront Jonathan, but he was quicker than the bat he couldn't trust. He stretched his arm and pressed the button, shooting a stream of gas into Batman's face.

He tried to back up but was too slow. Jonathan smiled beneath the mask as the bat began to stagger around the apartment, waving his arms at unseen predators.

"Oh, having trouble?" he asked Batman as the guy began to stumble around, blinking wildly and swinging at the images his mind created. Jonathan circled him, highly amused by the effect it was taking on the crusader who did little for him.

"Take a seat," he said, shoving Batman back into a chair. He grabbed the gas can by his feet that his men had left behind and splashed it onto the masked man. "Have a drink."

Batman was clearly out of it, his breathing was coming hard and fast and he kept shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of the images he was seeing through the gas intoxication. Jonathan smiled deeper behind his mask, pulling a lighter from his pocket. He hit the side, igniting it. "You look like a man who takes himself too seriously…You want my opinion…you need to lighten up,'" he dropped the lighter, sending Batman into a burst of flames. He flailed around before jumping out the window into the rain below.

Jonathan pulled off the mask and glance down to see the masked crusader struggling to get to his feet, falling into trashcans and back to the ground. He slid his glasses back on and looked around. His men were barely getting to their feet. They rubbed their heads and looked at Crane for further instruction. "Burn the place," he said simply and strolled out the door he came in. The smile still on his face and no mirror to look into. Maybe if Jonathan could have seen, he'd have seen the difference Emmeline saw…or he'd be too far gone to even care.

* * *

Jonathan unlocked the front door to his house and was surprised to find it completely dark inside. He blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he saw a figure sitting on the couch.

"Emmeline?" he called out. "Honey, are you all right?"

He moved over to her as she stood up and reached his hand out to touch her. His fingers brushed her arm and she jerked away from him.

"Don't touch me," she whispered bitterly.

"Honey," he reached over and switched on a lamp. Her hair was matted around her face and she looked paler, her lips were pale and her eyes were red with unshed tears. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Don't," she repeated and shook her head.

"Don't what?" he asked in complete loss.

"Don't stand there and pretend everything is okay, Jonathan. Okay, just don't."

His tone rose slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"The secrets, Jonathan. All the goddamn secrets you've been keeping from me for months now," she spoke calmly but her words were laced with anger. He could feel it with each word that fell and see it in the tension in her arms and torso. She was pissed.

"What secrets?" he asked.

She laughed, it was anything but humorless. "Don't play stupid either. Did you think I wouldn't find out? Did you think I wouldn't get curious? Because I have been since Zsasz's trial, since you were nice to Rachel, since last night when you broke your promise."

He sighed. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't know you were still upset about it."

"I'm not upset about last night," she said angrily. "I'm upset with the secrets. All the damn secrets."

"I don't keep secrets from you, Emmy," he told her.

"Liar," she spat.

"I'm not lying," he said with a shake of his head.

"Really," before he could stop her she moved closer to him and yanked up his right sleeve, revealing the arm brace. Jonathan pulled it down hastily and stared at her in shock of his secreet. "Then what the fuck is that, Jonathan? Huh? What is that?" She moved to him again, trying to reach into his inner jacket pocket and he grabbed her wrist forcefully pushing her back. She used her other to slap him across the face hard enough that it stung. "Don't grab me. Don't shove me. Or I swear to God I will knock you flat," she threatened him and for once he saw the pain in her eyes, all the hurt and anger was in her voice, but the pain fromhis lies was in he green eyes. She reached into his jacket and grabbed the mask he was afraid she'd find. She pulled it out and stared at it, running her fingers over the material.

Her face twisted to the point he thought she'd cry but then she took a deep breath and threw it on the floor. "What is that?"

"Emmy…"

"What is it?" she repeated.

"I can't…" he couldn't tell her about it, not when they were so close to success. He couldn't tell her about the mask, about the plan, about anything.

"Fine," she hissed and moved to the couch. She reached behind the pillow and took out some files. His files he realized. When had she gone into his office? How had she gotten in there?

She dropped them on the table. Three of Falcone's boys including Zsasz. The next one she dropped harder, throwing it hard and his eyes widened. Starling's file then Falcone's. His eyes met hers and the tears streamed down her cheeks in pain. Pain he had caused her. His wife, the one person he loved more than anyone else in the world.

"Why?" was all she said in barely a whisper.

"Emmy…"

"Why Jonathan? Why Falcone? Just tell me why?"

"I can't tell you…I can't."

"TELL ME!" she screamed and Jonathan paused. She'd never screamed at him in all the years they'd been together. "Just tell me."

He stood there, mouth slightly opened and swallowed hard, unable to say anything. Not knowing what to say to her to make her understand. She'd hate him either way. He'd lose her no matter what because she'd never understand. He couldn't tell her what he knew.

Emmy shook her head and turned to walk away. "I can't do this anymore. I'm out of here. You can keep the goddamn place and everything else. I'm going to live with my brother and I'm getting my apartment back."

"Don't do this," he said, following her into the bedroom. This was more serious than before. This wasn't a little fight. This was a showdown.

She shook her head and stared at him, eyes filled with pain but with hate as well. "I'm filing for divorce in the morning. I don't want anything from you. Keep it all, I don't care. I'm done with the lies. I'm done with the secrets and I'm done with you."

Jonathan felt the air deflate from his lungs and his heart sink to his stomach. Divorce…she was leaving him. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't lose her. Not after everything they'd ben through.He loved her. To hell with the plan, he wouldn't risk losing Emmeline.

He grabbed her arm and she turned to hit him, but he grabbed her wrist to stop him. "Let go of me!" she yelled.

"No," he replied, struggling with her. "Not until you listen to me." He shoved her and she fell onto the bed. "You want the truth. You want to know why."

"Yes," she nodded in anger. "I want to know why you did all this? Why you worked for Falcone? The one man we hated more than anyone in the world. Why Falcone? Why did you work for him?"

"FOR YOU!" he yelled and she became quiet. He took a deep breath and removed his glasses. "I did it for you, Emmy. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He trapped me."

"What did he give you?" she whispered.

His blue eyes met hers and the light was still there, her husband was there. "Starling…he gave me Starling and I wanted to make him pay. All I had to do was get two of his thugs out of jail and we'd be done…but he wasn't done. It became more and more until I couldn't get out…until today. I got rid of Falcone after he…" Jonathan felt the tears burn his eyes as his vision swam.

Emmy saw the pain in her husband and moved off the bed slowly and put her arms around him. She cupped his face and met his eyes. "What?"

"He hired Starling to take care of you…he said he'd hire someone to finish the job…Emmy he had this planned since we met…he had it planned all along from the day we married."

Emmy wasn't as shocked. She new Falcone could do it. But she was pissed and beyond angry that the asshole had used Jonathan, her Jonathan after she told him not to. He used her husband to get to her and it cost them both.

She nodded her head. "You took care of him? You made him insane somehow? It said that in your file."

Jonathan nodded. "Yes."  
She took a deep breath and Jonathan was waiting for the anger, expecting another slap but instead she smiled slightly. "Good it saves me from having to kill him."

"You're not upset?"

"No…I think I'm beginning to understand…as long as this is the truth."

"It is," he nodded with relief. "I wouldn't lie about this."

She pulled him back to the bed and sat him down. "Now," she taped his wrist where the brace was. "Please, trust me enough to explain this to me."

"I can't tell you about my boss. Not yet. Not when his plan is almost done."

"Will the plan hurt me?"

"No, I wouldn't do it if it could. You'll be fine and so will I."

She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her thighs. "Then work around him and tell me about this…everything you can."

Jonathan took a deep breath anddived into it. Never explaining Ra's, or the plan for the city or how he felt the effects inside him, twisting in his head, robbing him of the light and seeping in with the cold. He could control that side of him. There was no need to explain it for now.

* * *

**Next chapter is going to skip three days to the point of Rachel meeting Jonathan at Arkham and the madness that ensues…R&R in the meantime**


	21. Gone

**A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews But...I'm not going to say anything about this chapter…just read it and R&R...it gets very movie verse, the lines you recognize aren't mine, I only put in a few little touches.**

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* * *

****CHAPTER 21- Gone**

"I'll be home as soon as I can," Jonathan told her, speaking into his cell as he removed his glasses.

"How early can you escape from the asylum," Emmy teased from the other end, perched on the couch at home, enjoying her week vacation.

He smiled genuinely. "I'll be home no later than nine or ten, I promise."

"All right."

"I must be going though. Rachel is here to speak to me and from what I hear, she's none too happy with me."

"Could it be because you have Falcone in your asylum and she's as in the dark as I was about it?"

"Hmm, you might have something there," he teased, lips pursued. "You understand why she can't know, don't you?"

"Yeah, I get it. I love you, Jonathan."

"Not any more than I love you, Em."

"Be careful, okay. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight, hon."

"I really do love you," she said again and he could hear the seriousness in her voice. Enough to make him pause in mid step.

"I love you, too. More than anything."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone and tucked it away, next to the mask in his inner pocket.

Three days had passed and things were exceptionally better between him and Emmeline, stronger even. He had explained all he could to her and though she seemed frightened by the idea of the toxin, she generally accepted it as one of his experiments. He still hadn't told her about Ra's and she didn't probe any further about it. She just took it as it was along with the side effects of his own dosage of the toxin, as she called it, the smile that wasn't his.

He couldn't stop it from happening and she'd come to realize that, she hadn't fully greeted the idea but she was coming to terms with it. Emmy said she just tell him when he was acting strange, though when he was strange he never seemed to hurt her, that was a comfort to him. He just felt…more relaxed when he let it take over. It was easier to get a job done that way as it had been with Falcone and the Batman and talking to Bruce Wayne. He needed that strength now for his next mission; Miss Dawes. It'd be easier to deal with her if he let himself fade and let the effects take hold. It was so much easier to be colder and more distant from Rachel that way. He could feel guilty later as long as he saved her now.

Crane rounded the corner and put on his glasses as he saw Rachel standing in front of the observation glass, watching Falcone, arms folded angrily over her chest as she watched him approach. He could recall the days she smiled at him warmly, now her eyes were fierce not to mention pissed as he approached her. Jonathan cast it aside as the past. This was now, this was the new approach to Gotham. You couldn't remain a light in this city forever, he saw how pointless it all was and the nothing it did for Gotham. At least he was getting things done now, just as Emmy understood. You had to be in the gray area, had to cross a little to get things done. Rachel just couldn't grasp that.

"Ms. Dawes," he said as he stopped a few feet in front of her. "This is most irregular. I've nothing to add to the report I gave the judge."

Rachel met his gaze with angry eyes. "Well, I have a question about your report."

"Such as," he asked in a victimized tone.

"Such as, isn't it convenient for a fifty-two year old man with no history of mental illness to suddenly have a complete psychotic breakdown just when he was about to be indicted?"

Crane made a gesture at the glass window were Falcone was strapped to a bed, muttering the word "scarecrow" over and over like his own personal mantra as his eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling. "You can see for yourself Ms. Dawes…there's nothing _convenient_ about his symptoms."

"What's scarecrow?"

He took a slight deep breath and spoke in his professional tone, the one Emmy had once called his drama tone so long ago. "Patients suffering delusional episodes often focus their paranoia onto an external tormentor, usually one conforming to Jungian archetypes. In this case, a scarecrow."

Rachel blinked at Jonathan, piecing some of it together. "He's drugged?"

Crane nodded. "Psychopharmacology is my primary field. I'm a strong advocate. Outside, he was a giant. In here, only the mind can grant you power."

She stared at him, argumentive and disgusted. "You enjoy the reversal?"

"I respect the mind's power over the body. It's why I do what I do."

"I do what I do to get scum like Falcone behind bars not in therapy," she said angrily. It was the first time she'd been angry with him since the dinner they had a week ago.

"I did send you two of Falcone's men back for trial two days ago."

"And you took Falcone as a bargain?" she questioned. She shook her head and started walking to the elevators. Jonathan was relieved to see her leaving. "I want my own psychiatric consultant to have full access to Falcone, including bloodwork to find out exactly what you have him on."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. He could have Falcone diluted by then and Rachel would never know. "First thing tomorrow then."

"Tonight. I've already paged Dr. Lehmann."

Jonathan's lip twitched. He couldn't let that happen. The traces of the toxin would still be in the mob boss's blood. He had to think of something…and then he did. It was a long shot…but it would work. He smiled coldly at Rachel, the light fading from his eyes more so. She stepped into the elevator and he followed her, pulling a set of keys from his pocket. "Would you like to inspect our facilities? I have something I want to show you. I think you should see this."

Rachel frowned and Jonathan stayed passive as the elevator went down and the doors opened to the basement. He walked her over to a door marked "hydrotherapy" and pushed it open, standing at the railing with Rachel next to him. It was a vast room with dozens of stainless steel tables that had scales and kegs placed on them. Workers, she recognized a few as inmates, even Zsasz's was among them, were transferring white powder from the kegs to the cloths. Two workers were currently pouring powder from a large barrel into a large hole that was cut into an even larger pipe that water rushed through.

She stared at Crane in horror and Jonathan could only stare straight ahead, set on what he had to do. He could undo it later without any harm on Rachel and then have Emmeline explain everything to her in the safety of their apartment, but for now, he had to subdue her and he had to let his other half do that job.

"This is where we make the medicine," he said in a drone tone with a smile. "Perhaps you should have some. Clear your head."

Rachel took off running and Jonathan didn't bother to stop her. He took a deep breath and removed his glasses, tucking them away and pulling out the burlap mask. He signaled two of his men to follow and they moved over to the elevator. It wouldn't budge as long as Jonathan's key was in it. Rachel was cornered.

The elevator doors opened and Rachel stared at him, petrified. "Let me help you: he said and meant it with everything he could think of. He stretched his arm out and hit the trigger, glad no one could see him flinch beneath the mask as Rachel coughed and stared at him screaming. The two men grabbed her and dragged her down the staircase, lying her on a table. Her head rolled back and forth and she was mumbling. Shit, he gave her too much. He had to get her back to his apartment quick to get her the antitoxin.

"Who knows you're here?" he asked her. He had to be sure no one would come looking for her here while he had her at his apartment. But she didn't answer. "Who knows?"

Rachel turned her head away and screamed.

Jonathan pulled off the mask as the lights in the basement flickered on and off and a swooshing noise was heard. He looked around and spoke in an awed voice. "He's here."

"Who?" one of the guys asked.

He continued looking around as he spoke. "The Batman."

"What do we do?"

"What anyone does when a prowler comes around?" he fixed one of the guys with his blue eyes. "Call the police."

"You want the cops here, boss?" one of the guys questioned.

"At this point, even if they get us, it's too late. They can't stop us. But the Batman has a talent for disruption. Force him outside, the police will take him down. Go."

"What about her?" the guy gestured at Rachel.

Crane licked his lips and felt a ping of regret. He never wanted this to happen to Rachel, never wished to hurt her, but he couldn't let these guys know it. He had to act serious and threatening or they'd turn on him. He had an antidote to fix her in his office. His boss had given a few to him to keep himself sane and Emmeline safe. He had taken a couple himself to get the immunity against the toxin though he'd be dosed with it enough times before, but he hadn't given any to Emmeline, hadn't had the time. But he could give Rachel one, he just couldn't let the others know it. He had to get her back to his apartment, if not to his office, the apartment would be safer.

"She's gone," he said with a forced smile that they all bought and that his other half made easier to make. "I gave her a concentrated dose. The mind can only take so much."

"What about the Batman? The things they say about him…I heard he can disappear."

He truly smiled this time. "We'll find out, won't we? Call the police."

Jonathan moved then, hiding in the darkness beneath the stairwell, watching as the Batman took out each and every one of his men. _We'll get him, _the voice in his head said. He was used to that, he'd heard it before. It was the voice that matched the coldness in his eyes Emmeline hated but that he was used to. _He'll never interrupt us again. He'll never hurt Rachel or Emmeline again_.

How had the Batman hurt Rachel and Emmeline? _Don't tell me you haven't noticed? _It said. But he hadn't noticed anything. He pushed the voice aside for right now and focused on Batman. He saw his opening the Batman had his back turned. Jonathan lurched forward.

But this time, Batman expected it. He grabbed Jonathan's arm and twisted it back. He cried out in pain as his mask was ripped off. He couldn't even struggle to get away, his arm was pinned too tight and at the angle he'd break his arm in two places if he tried, it would all be in vain. He was trapped as he thought he would be. What he didn't expect was Batman using his own toxin against him.

"How about a dose of your own medicine," Batman said and twisted his arm around, fingers finding the trigger on the wrist latch. The fumes spewed out before Jonathan could turn away. He coughed as it entered his lungs and burned its way down his throat, tearing his eyes. Batman wrapped a hand around his neck and held him up straight, face to face. Jonathan's eyes widened as his own powder took effect on him. He found himself not face to face with the usual masked man, but with a demonic black faced monster with razor sharp fangs straight out of a child's nightmare.

"Who are you working for?" it growled, voice bouncing off the stone walls as it held him tight. He was slipping away, Jonathan could feel it. He felt his senses shutting down, felt his mind giving out though he knew it was only the toxin, but Batman had used so much of it, more than usual. Crane struggled to stay in the front of his own mind, struggled to stop the world from caving around him, to stop the dream like sequence from taking over. But he was being pushed back.

"Ra's…Ra's Al Ghul," he managed to sputter. His voice sounded so distant, as if he were talking from far away or in a dream. He couldn't move, couldn't breath, he could only think about everything he was losing as he lost his battle. He felt that other part of his mind starting to take over. The primitive side, the side that had created it all, the one Emmy said was cold and distant. The same one that decided Rachel had to be gassed. He could feel it coming forth and this time he couldn't force it back. Couldn't stop it. It was taking over. He was losing himself to the darkness.

But in the darkness he saw the light before it faded. He saw Emmeline's face, saw her smiling at him reassuringly, heard her voice as he lay there in her lap **_You'll be all right… you're safe with me_**. She was the first thing he saw when he awoke in the subway and he was the last face he saw as he slipped into the darkness with only a whisper of her name forming on his lips.

"Emmy," it fell and he was gone, the light in his eyes fading with the ice that took over.

"Who do you work for, Crane?" Batman growled in anger, only getting Emmeline's name from him.

The eyes blinked and Bruce noticed the sudden change in them. They had been alive one minute and gone in the next blink. "Dr. Crane isn't here right now, but if you'd like to make an appointment…"

That much was true. Crane wasn't there, he was locked away and not even his replacement could dig him back up. He could feel parts of Crane's personality but what made Crane was no longer present. It was buried too far deep to conjure up. Batman looked around as he heard the cop cars pull up and growled. He grabbed Jonathan and slammed him, head first into the concrete staircase. Everything went dark around him, but Jonathan never felt it, he was already gone.

* * *

**Really emotional chapter…next is Emmeline finding out…….its gonna be tough…..**


	22. Falling Apart

**A/N: Its going to be more Emmeline centered from now on with Jonathan out of the picture…now she finds out what happens….**

**CHAPTER 22 – Falling Apart**

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Emmy gasped suddenly, dropping the cup she was holding. It shattered to the floor into a hundred pieces but she didn't care or even notice it. She blinked and leaned against the counter, trying to steady her racing heart from the sudden panic attack. She took deep breaths and hurried over to the window to lookout over the vast and busy city. Everything appeared to be normal, but she felt her eyes drawn to the far left, where the Narrows lay in the distance. Something wasn't right.

She felt a large emptiness inside her. Something had happened at the asylum. Something had happened to Jonathan. She knew it. She picked up the cordless and dialed in Rachel's number since she was with Jonathan. She needed Rachel to tell her she was insane, that her husband was right there, but her friend wasn't answering the phone. She knew Rachel had gone done to the asylum to talk to Jonathan about Falcone. She should be answering. Emmy hung up and dialed Jonathan's cell. It rang five times and went to voice mail. It wasn't like him to not answer his phone. Normally he'd answer in three rings, even if he was busy. He took any call from her and promised to call her back as soon as he could unless he was in trial, which he wasn't. Not at eleven at night.

She hung up and bit her lip, not knowing what to do. He was running late. He promised to be home no later than ten. It was over an hour and he wasn't answering his phone and neither was Rachel. Something wasn't right. She siglet out a deep breath and dialed Russell's cell number. He answered on the second ring. "What's up, Emmy?"

"Russ, something's happened."

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, very concerned for her well-being.

"I don't know. Something's happened to Jonathan I can feel it."

There was silence for a moment before Russ spoke, obviously confused. "What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it, Russ. I just have this really bad feeling that something isn't right. I feel drawn to go to Arkham. Just to see if everything's okay and I'm freaking out. He said he'd be home over an hour ago, Russ, and he's not answering his cell."

"He's a guy, Sissy," he countered.

"Yeah, but Jonathan isn't like that. He'd answer his phone. He'd call me if he was held up and you know it," she argued.

She heard Russ sigh into the phone. She got him there. "All right. Tell you what. I'll go home and change and then I'll be over."

"Where are you now?"

"Driving home."

She took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. "It's all right. I'll be fine. I'll drive down there myself. It's probably just my imagination or something."

"No, I'll come by and see you. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"You have a key, just come in then. I'm going down to the asylum."

"No, you're going to wait for me. I'll be there in twenty minutes, max. I'm almost home now," he said it sternly, meaning he wanted her to listen to him for once.

"Fine," she sighed as she gave in despite herself. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always," Russ said and hung up.

Emmy put the phone on the coffee table and sat on the couch. She switched on the television ten minutes later to take her mind off things and distrat herseld from the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. This only disturbed her more. It was breaking news with a bulletin at the bottom stating Batman's break away from Arkham. The Batman's car was in a high-speed chase with the police. She watched as car by car got turned over as the Batman rushed through. She switched it off, afraid to see what would happen. How could the Batman be so careless with pedestrians driving home? He was a maniac. She shook her head and paused, suddenly remembering the caption she had read and prayed she misread. She switched the TV back on and turning up the volume, listening to the report.

"For those of you just tuning in," the reporter announced. "The Batman is fleeing the scene after escaping in his car from Arkham Asylum. He's driving at incredible speed limits and has already totaled eight cop cars and six pedestrian cars."

Emmy gasped and shut it off, unable to calm her rapid heart. Arkham, Batman came from Arkham. Jonathan was at Arkham. She hurried into their room and slipped her shoes and jacket on. She ran to the living room and grabbed her car keys from their spot on the hook. As quickly as she could she scribbled a note for her brother and left the apartment, taping it to the door, explaining that she had to go without him but she had her cell phone numberso he could call her.

Emmeline drove the back root to Arkham, knowing the front would be blocked. By the time she got there, the cops were still there, but there weren't as many.

"You can't go in there, miss," a cop grabbed her arm. She yanked away forcefully and soun to face him, holding up her badge that she kept in her wallet.

"My husband works here and I work down at the courthouse. I'm a CI, would you like to tell me no again, deputy," she spoke angrily.

The guy backed down without an apologyand she hurried up the steps, her heart beating faster and faster. Most of the cops she recognized and none bothered her as she made her way to the office. She hurried to Jonathan's office on the second floor and burst through it, expecting to see him there, filling out the paperwork on the incidenr. But he wasn't there. This only caused her more panic.

She rushed out in a frenzy and came face to face with Gordon just outsie the office. He looked like he had a bitter taste in his mouth as his eyes met hers.

"My boys told me you came in here. I guessed you'd be coming to Jonathan's office," he told her sadly. She didn't like his tone.It was regretful, even pitiful.

"Where's Jonathan, Gordon? What happened? Is he hurt?"

"Mild concussion," Gordon told her easily and his eyes fell to the floor behind his glasses.

Emmeline let out a sigh of relief and put a hand to her chest. "Oh thank God. Is he at Gotham City Hospital?"

"No," Gordon took a deep breath and let it out in a burst of air. "Emmy, he's here."

"You haven't transported him yet?" she asked, a bit upset by that fact.

"No…Jesus, this is hard," the older man said and rubbed at his eyes under his glasses.

Emmeline felt her heart sink for the third time in an hour and her hand fell to her side. "What is it, Gordon?...What happened to my husband?...What happened to Jonathan? You said he wasn't hurt."

"He's not hurt, Emmy," Gordon put a comforting hand on her elbow and the look in his eyes scared Emmy. They were full of sorow. "He's insane."

She sucked in a deep breath, not quite comprehending the words. "What? I don't…I don't understand."

"He's not making any sense right now…he poisoned Rachel and he's been distributing toxins into the Gotham water supply."

"What?" she shook her head. Jonathan wouldn't do that. Not without a reason that they didn't see or understand. He had explained to her the other night he was doing something to cure Gotham, not kill it. There was a mistake.

"He was working for Falcone."

"No, he wasn't. He was working _against _Falcone, Gordon. He was trying to destroy Falcone and he did. He did the justice to Falcone that no one else could do."

"You knew about this?"

"Only about what happened to Falcone. Jonathan explained it to me three nights ago."

Gordon shook his head in disbelief. "Jesus, Em. You could get in trouble for this."

"But I won't…you don't know, Gordon. You don't know what Falcone has done to us…to _me_. To my little girl. You have no idea," she shook her head as her voice shook. Not now. She had to be strong. "Jonathan is not a bad guy."

"Even if he was found innocent, he's not making any sense."

"Let me see him," she demanded quickly.

"I don't know, Em."

"He's my Goddamn husband, Gordon. If it were your wife in there you'd be acting the same way. Take. Me. To. Jonathan."

Gordon opened his mouth and closed it.

Emmeline nodded, point proven. "Let me see him."

He nodded and took her down the hall and down another corridor with locked doors and tiny windows. Her husband was in one of these, Emmy realized suddenly, trapped behind the same walls he used to work for. Gordon stopped in front of a door and took out a set of keys, unlocking it...Jonathan's keys. He held it open and she walked in carefully. He didn't follow her though. He stayed right outside,shutting the door to give her privacy.What she saw was the last possible manner she pictured Jonathan.

He was sitting, ankles chained to a bed chair in a straightjacket,head leaning against the head rest as he sat sideways staring into an empty abyss, mumbling to himself. His hair was disheveled and hung in his unnaturally pale face. His lips were colorless and chapped and his eyes…they were wild blue, filled with the same emptiness she had seen before but it was greater now, there was no trace of Jonathan in them, no light in the cold darkness. She felt the tears burn her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her cry. She wouldn't lose it, not here.

She regained control and sat in the metal chair across from Jonathan in the damp white room. So plain and boring, so…somber and sad like Jonathan. It gave little hope for anything.

"Jonathan," she spoke calmly and softly. "Baby, talk to me…Jonathan?"

He continued to stare off, eyes drifting to different spots muttering the same word to himself, "Scarecrow…scarecrow."

"Jonathan."

"Jonathan isn't here right now. I can take a message," he spoke, eyes boring into her so suddenly she jumped a bit.

She shivered unable to stop it. Those eyes were cold, they pierced her very soul, clearly showing he no longer had one in him, or it was buried so far deep, it couldn't be brought to the surface. "Jonathan, please. It's Emmy. Please talk to me."

"Jonathan isn't here right now…" he repeated.

"No…" she shook her head. He was lost to her. It was his body but Jonathan wasn't there, what made him her husband was gone. No, she refused to believe that. Not after everything they'd been through. She knew about this other personality, she'd dealt with it before, but now she knew his name. He was repeating it.

She took the chance and licked her suddenly dry lips. "Scarecrow…"

His eyes met hers, eyebrows raised, waiting for her to say something.

"I've seen you before," she whispered, recognizing the vastness in his eyes. "I know you…"

He smiled and Emmy shivered. She definitely knew him. It was that smile…the empty smile that was more sinister than anything. She'd seen it in her home, seen it at the court house, seen it at dinner, seen it quite a few times.

"Scarecrow, where's Jonathan? Where's my husband?"

He smiled that cold, humanless smile. "He's locked away right now…deep inside."

"So he's still there?"

"Yes, but he did a fine job at putting him away."

She frowned, puzzled suddenly. "Who did?"

"The Batman," he said with a voice so unlike Jonathan's, he purred the words almost. "He poisoned us with our own toxin to save the Dawes girl."

"Rachel?" she said, her best friend.

"Yes. Saved her and hurt Jonathan. What a friend? All he was doing was protecting the good people and punishing the bad…maybe Rachel wasn't the best choice of victims, but she was ruining everything. She didn't understand what I was helping Jonathan do. We didn't want to hurt her. We were going to fix her before he came, before he ruined our plan."

"Which was?"

"Poison the bad people of the city with Ras Al Ghul's help. The good would have been helped but the bad…the corrupt. They'd have been brought down by their own fears…just like Falcone…just like Paul."

"Paul…the man who…"

"Hurt you…yes. Jonathan was so upset…he used his experimental drugs on Paul…that's when he created me. I'm just another part of his mind, the more primitive side that used to co-exist with Jonathan…and little by little I helped him, I grew stronger. I started mixing with Jonathan's personality as another part of his mind…but now he can't put me back. Batman made sure of that…the man who's Batman at least."

He trailed off but Emmeline caught his attention. "Who's Batman, Scarecrow? Do you know?"

"Yes…it was so simple. Jonathan told me before he slipped away into oblivion."

"Who is he?"

"It's evident."

"Tell me…please. Who did this to Jonathan?" she'd kill whoever it was. She was sure of that. Make them pay for it all. She'd make Batman pay no matter what.

He met her eyes and smiled with a quick lick of his lips. "Come closer."

She swallowed hard and moved closer, within a foot of the Scarecrow.

"Closer," he whispered in a purr.

She got close to him, within six inches, and he stared at her, she met those iced eyes and he shot forward, stealing a kiss from her. His chapped lips caressing hers in a hungry manner. She didn't jump back as he broke away, just found herself breathing harder and reminding herself of Jonathan, that it was still Jonathan. Somewhere in there. He whispered his answer against her lips. "Ask Ra's Al Ghul."

"Who's Ra's? Where can I find him?"  
"He'll find you," he said. "Believe me, he'll want to find you."

"Scarecrow…"

He glanced back at her with an amused look.

"Is it possible to get Jonathan back?"

"Honestly…" he shrugged underneath the straight jacket. "I don't know. But I do know you better get home. The streets will be riddled with the insane. I don't want you getting hurt."

"What about you?"

"I'll be just fine," he smiled. "He's coming for me…I'll get to have fun with no remorse for what Batman did. I'll take the whole city with me."

She felt tears in her eyes as she stared at the soulless shell of her husband. "I want Jonathan…"

"He's not here…neither should you be."

Emmeline winced at the words coming from what looked like her husband but wasn't. As he said, he was the more primitive side of Jonathan. She was willing to do anything to get him back, even if this Scarecrow had to be a part of Jonathan, her husband had still been there, like he was today and the day before that, she could have lived with that. But not this. Never this.

"Emmeline…" Emmy paused to tilt her head slightly towards him, but didn't look, she couldn't bear it.

"If its any consultation, his last thought was of you."

Emmeline closed her eyes against the tears and bit her lip, her fingers twisting her wedding ring. "I'll see him again."

"You can try."

She left the room then with him laughing softly in the chair he was tied to.

Gordon was waiting for her down the hall, arms folded over his chest.

"How'd it go?"

"I got him to talk…he recognized me because I've seen him before. He knows who I am."

"You talked to Jonathan?" he asked in shock.

She shook her head. "Not Jonathan. I talked to the Scarecrow."

"What?"

"That's not my husband," her jaw clenched in anger as she thought of the masked crusader. "He made damn sure I'd never see my husband again."

"Who did?"

"Batman," she seethed, the name falling from gritted teeth. "Batman did this and I'll be damned if he doesn't pay for it."

"Emmy, no," Gordon shook his head in arguement. "Batman is a good guy."

"Yeah and so was Jonathan and look what he did!" she pointed down the bland hallway. "Look what he did to my fucking husband, Gordon! And I don't care if he supposedly hurt Rachel because that's bullshit. There was more to it than that and I'll make sure Batman realizes that. How can I not want him to pay?"

Gordon sighed defeatd. "I'm not going to argue this…did he at least tell you the plans?"

"Yeah he did," she nodded and felt a new rise of anger at Gordon. He didn't care about Jonathan all he cared for was fixing this corrupt city and helping the _great_ Batman. "But like hell I'm telling you."

Gordon gave her a stern look. "Emmy as a detective you have to let me know all infor-"

"SHOVE IT!" She yelled. "All you care for is this fucked up city and your Batman friend. Well so did I and so did Jonathan and look what it did for us. It chewed us up and spit us out and I hope it burns. As for my job, I quit."

"Emmy," he said quietly stunned.

"Don't," she held up a hand. "All I can say is, you better be prepared because the night isn't over." She started walking away but Gordon stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Emmy," Gordon said sympathetically.

"Don't be," she said and wiped at her eyes, stopping the tears. "That's not my husband, but I'll get him back. I'll bring Jonathan back."

"How do you know you can?"

"Because," she met Gordon's eyes and told him the version of the same words she had told Jonathan so many years ago. "He's safe with me. I saved him once I'll save him again…Good bye Gordon."

With that she walked out of the asylum her husband was locked in, determined to come up with a way to bring her husband back from the dark he was lost in and not caring who she had to kill to do it.

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DAMN…..I feel bad and I wrote it…poor Emmy….stay tuned to see what happens next. R&R in the meantime. 


	23. Truth Be Told

**A/N: Yup, better and better. Read enjoy! I only got one more chapter pre-written...then I'm stuck...so enjoy this.**

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**CHAPTER 23 – Truth Be Told**

Emmeline hurried through the crowded party, searching for her billionaire friend. It was his party and birthday after all. On any normal day she'd have felt out of place and certainly out of dress since everyone was in gowns and jewels and she was running through in jeans, a blue t-shirt and a jacket with her hair half up in a rubber band to keep it out of her face. But this wasn't the average day, not with her husband lost to her. She needed Bruce's help. She had to get Jonathan out of that place. She had to help him.

She spotted her old friend a few feet in front of her as she shouldered her way through, ignoring the dirty looks. They could all kiss her ass as far as she was concerned. She hated their type anyway. Always looking down on others as if they were much less than garbage. Maybe if they worked in the Narrows like Jonathan or in the courthouses like she and Rachel they'd understand, but they didn't. And you always fear what you don't understand Falcone had told her. He had been right about that much. She had feared Jonathan until he explained it to her, she had feared Starling until she explained it to herself. She didn't fear much right now.

"Bruce!" she called out to the billionaire. He paused and turned around with a puzzled look until he saw Emmeline nudging her way through the rich crowd.

"Emmeline, what a pleasant surprise to see you on my birthday," he said with a dazling smile, flashing pearly whites and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Happy Birthday, Bruce," she panted, out of breath, "but I'm here for a less pleasant reason."

"Which would be?" he asked keenly sipping on his champagne.

"It's my husband…he's just been arrested and committed to the Arkham Asylum. I need your help. I need you to help me get him out of there."

He chuckled slightly causing Emmeline to frown. She wasn't expecting him to laugh. Maybe frown in confusion and wonder, but never laugh. "Ironic isn't it. The doctor becomes the patient in his own facility."

Emmy tried to explain. "Bruce, he didn't do anything. If you could just hear what he was doing and why you'd understand. He's not in his right mind right now. I can explain everything if you need me to."

"Other than your husband is crazy, I don't need an explanation."

Her frown deepened as she stared at Bruce. She shrugged his arm from her shoulders and stepped back to face him. "There is nothing wrong with Jonathan and if there is, I will help him but I need your help to get him out of there. They can't help him like I can. I know Jonathan. I know what he is. He's been acting weird for a few months and I understand now. So will everyone else."

"So you knew your husband was insane?" Bruce jabbed with his smug smile.

"What?" she repeated shaking her head feeling suddenly upset with her former friend. "Bruce, Jonathan is a good man. Whatever this is, is a mistake. I only came here asking for your help. I tried to get hold of Rachel but she wasn't answering her phone."

"You don't need to bring this to her," he said strictly. "She's been through enough with your husband and so have I."

"I tried Gordon already, but he's on Batman's side. I need you, Bruce."

"Then maybe Batman is right about your husband being part of the scum of the city just like the rest of us believe."

Emmeline just stared perplexed. "You don't even know Jonathan."

"And apparently, neither do you. It was a mistake for you to have ever saved him to begin with."

That was it. Emmeline's fist shot out and she hit Bruce across the face, hard enough to send him staggering, dropping his glass,and getting a few stares and whispers from fellow guests. Bruce straightened himself and smiled at the guests, showing there was no harm. When he looked back at her, she fixed him with a gaze as cold as her husband's. "How dare you, Bruce. I love my husband, he was the best thing that ever happened to me after everyone else abandoned me, including you. I'm not going to let him rot in there like you rot in your own despair." She nodded her head as she backed away. "You are _nothing _like your father. Rachel was right, you have changed worse than Jonathan ever could have. Thanks for nothing, asshole."

"EMMELINE!" He called out after her.

"GO TO HELL!" she spat at him and hurried out towards the asylum. She was halfway towards the foyer when a hand grabbed her upper arm. She spun around, ready to swing, but the guy let her go, holding up his hands to show her he had no intentions of hurting her.

"I won't harm you, Mrs. Crane," he spoke softly with a light accent.

Her anger faded slightly and she brought her hand down. "How do you know my name?"

"Because I know your husband."

Her mouth fell open slightly. "How do you know Jonathan?"

"He worked for me."

She frowned and looked him over. He was a man in his late forties wearing a black suit with a cane. He was tall, at least six foot one with hair that was once fully brown but now graying slightly with his mustache and goatee. He had brown eyes to match, they also were aged beyond his years, appearing to be hundreds of years old instead of a mere fifty at most.

"I've never met you before," she said with a shake of her head. Then it dawned on her. The letters he kept in his files. "R.A.G…Ra's Al Ghul…you wrote him those letters."

"Smart girl," he smiled. "I see why Jonathan loves you so much."

"He was helping you, but why? And why is Bruce a danger?"

"In due time will you know. I will tell you before this is over."

"Why did you need Jonathan? Why my husband?" she asked and glanced back. The crowds were too far away to hear their conversation. They were in the main room and she was near the front entrance.

"I had him use our blue poppies to make his toxin. He used it on a few people in the city to understand it's effects before I used it for my greater plan."

"Toxin?" her mind spoun remembering the round disk objects she found in his cabinet and the blue flowers he had been growing.He had told her of it. "The powder."

"Yes…he told you quite a bit as I knew he would. He couldn't bear leaving you in the dark with his secrets. He was doing all this to protect you, to try and bring Gotham justice that it'll never find, I'm sure he's said that. I kept him in the dark on that as well. But he thought he was doing this for the greater good. It was the only reason he worked for Falcone because he ultimately worked for me. I met him through one of his colleagues and provided him with the flowers. I believe it went more to his head than I thought it would and now that he's had a dose of his own medication, it'll take a greater power to bring him out of it," he touched her arm gently. "You are the only one who can." He slid his hand down her arm and she felt herself tense. He turned her hand over, palm up, and place two vials in it.

"What are these?" she frowned, holding it up.

"The only thing to save you from the clouds. You take one yourself and give one to your husband when you can find him."

"Where did you get these?"

He smiled. "Bruce isn't the only one who has power over a facility. Speaking of the young man, if I were you, I wouldn't trust him much."

"Why?"

He gestured to the party room. "Look what he's done to you so far."

"What do you mean?"

"My dear, you cannot be so naïve as to not notice," he smiled despite his words.

She shook her head, not quite getting it. "Notice what?"

"Think of it, my dear. Your husband figured it out."

She rubbed at her temples. Now she was getting a headache. "Figured what out. I'm tired of riddles. Why can't I trust Bruce? He's my friend, he's-"

"Batman,'" Ra's filled in for her.

Emmeline froze, fingers still at her temples. Her hands slowly dropped to her sides and she shook her head. It felt like a slege hammer had been slammed into her chest, all the air was driven out of her lungs. "No…he can't be. That's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous at all if you think of it. Tell me…when did Batman begin to appear?"

"A month ago," she said but it came out a whisper.

"And when did Bruce return?"

She felt her blood run cold. "A month ago…Oh my God."

It made sense now. He wouldn't help her because he did this to Jonathan, to her husband. When Bruce came home, Batman started appearing and Batman was a bat…Bruce's childhood fear. Ra's wrote to Jonathan telling him not to trust Bruce which was why he had been so cold to him, so standoffish. Jonathan knew …and now he was suffering for it in that asylum...because of Bruce, the Batman.

"Jonathan…" she whispered and took a deep breath, she hadn't noticed she stopped breathing until her lungs burnt. "He did this to Jonathan."

"And now you have to help your husband with the antidote. Find him, Emmeline, and save him before Bruce finds him."

"But he's in the asylum. I'll just go there and give it to him."

Ra's looked truly somber as he shook his head. The look in his eyes wasn't promising. "He may not be there. My men are setting free the asylum's captives as we speak to wreak havoc on the city. You must search for him. Use your heart and instincts to find your husband before it's too late. Go now," he told her and walked back towards the party.

Emmeline felt overwhelmed with the task that she had to finish. She didn't even know this man, but she needed his help more than ever. "Wait!"

He paused and turned around, eyebrows raised in waiting.

"Where do I find you if I need you?"

"If ever you need to find me, head east to China and find the blue flower then climb the mountain. My home is still there as well as the answers your future may be seeking."

She frowned deeper even more confused than she had been. She stared back down at the vials in her hand and put them in her pocket. It was time to go collect whatever was left of her husband…if she wasn't too late as Ra's said she'd be.


	24. Alone

**A/N: I'm VERY extremly sorry. I have NO internet at my house do to us switching over to Verizon DSL, which wont be up until Oct. 21 -25th at the latest. I apologize a million times to all of you but you WILL get mor chapters once my comps up. . This is a very short but very emotional. Completely involving Emmy now. She's the last hope…poor girl**

**CHAPTER 24 – Alone**

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The warmth fell from her body and the blood drained from her face as she parked in front of the Asylum. Ra's hadn't been lying to her. His men had destroyed the asylum. There was a large hole in the side of the building and the front doors were busted down. It was completely evacuated. Not one person appeared to be within it.

"No," Emmy whispered and ran up the concrete steps for the second time that hour. She heard an explosion in the distance and saw steam rising into the air, one after another as the monorail car above zoomed on the tracks in the distance. She frowned and looked at the vials in her hand. She pulled the top off one and closed her eyes as she jammed it into her thigh. She yanked it out and tossed it aside, never looking at it. She hated needles. She was surprised she could still fear them given what was going on around her.

Without another moments hesitation she ran into the hallway. Glass was spread across the floors and the doors were all opened. Every criminal was set loose in the streets, every rapist, every murderder. She didn't have time to worry about that. She glanced at the security department. The glass was smashed and the guard was on the floor. Emmy knelt next to him and felt his neck. He was alive. She was about to stand up when she noticed his gun. She pulled it from his belt and checked the magazine. Nine bullets were still in it. Not bad, she thought and slammed it back in, tucking it into her waistband. Another useful thing she had learned from her brothers. How to use a gun. Fighting hadn't been enough for them, gun handling had to come with it.

Emmy stood and glanced into the hall. Empty and quiet like a cemetery. Only the screams coming from the city ripped through her ears. She ran as fast as she could to the end of the hall. It felt like a dream, the hall seemed to stretch for miles every time she got closer and she felt like she couldn't run fast enough as she took the stairs, as if her legs were trapped in mud and it was all in slow motion.After what felt like hours she made it to Jonathan's door and paused, frozen. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see. Her heart pounded as she neared it, wondering if he was still in there.

She stood in the doorway and peered in the chair. It was empty. There was nothing there. He was gone. They had taken him. Her husband. The love of her life. She leaned her back against the wall in complete shock and stared at the floor remembering everything they'd been through from the time she found him in the subway to the hospital.

_"You can't leave," he had told her at his apartment six years before he nearly fainted from his injuries._

_"Why's that?"_

_"Because…" she remembered him thinking quickly for an answer. "You're supposed to take care of me and you should uphold your obligation…besides…you're my fiancée."_

That had been her excuse when she found him. That he was her fiancé and it had just progressed from there. Especially at the park and their first kiss.

_"Wait a moment," Jonathan had said and pulled her back to him as he stared at the lake under the starry sky._

_"What is it?" _

_"I remember now," he nodded his head and removed his glasses, tucking them into the pocket of his jacket as he looked at the lake with that smile she loved, the smile that told her everything was okay spread across his face. _

_"Remember what?" _

_His blue eyes met hers tapped a finger against his lips as if thinking of something significant. "Yes. It's coming back to me…this is the place we had our first kiss."_

She smiled weakly remembering the feel of it, how it had sent a fire through her body and made her toes tingle in anticipation. It had been the beginning of the end for her. She had found the one, her soul mate, the man she had dreamt of all her life that night. Even though the proposal didn't go as well as she had planned. Not when she had caught Olivia kissing her boyfriend in his office. But Jonathan had followed her home and had been relentless. He was never one to give up.

_"No," he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. "I won't let you walk away from us. I love you, Emmy."_

_ "Give me one reason, Jonathan," she said strictly. "Give me a reason to stay."_

_He tucked a strand of hair behind he ear and caressed her cheek with his fingers, whispering to her. "I'm safe with you."_

_She blinked and a small smile spread across her lips, replacing the hurt and anger she had felt. She had said those words to him when he had awakened for a moment in the station, lying there in her lap. "You heard me?"_

_He nodded. "Yes…I don't love Olivia. She's been after me for months, but I love you. I told her, she never listened. Tonight she thought she could win me over with her force, but I fired her. I wish you had shown up a minute before but you didn't." He licked his lips in a quick gesture and removed his glasses to meet her green eyes. "Emmy, you were the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes in the station and you were the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes at the hospital…and I want you to be the first thing I see every time I open my eyes from now on."_

_Emmy had tears in her eyes at this point, but they clouded more when he produced a small box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a diamond ring…one that was a direct copy of the one she had stolen years ago. The same type as her mother's that had been passed down to her. _

_"I remember the last piece of the puzzle," Jonathan told her in a whisper. " I remember how I proposed…will you marry me, Emmy? Be my fiancée? For keeps."_

Her fingers traced the ring around her finger. She never took it off. Not since he slipped it on her right hand after they got married and her diamond wedding ring hand never come off either. The had been through the toughest of times, including the miscarriage and including all the fights they had had in the past, but they kept coming back to each other in that understanding. They followed each other no matter what. Everything he had done, he did for her. He risked life and limb for her, even worked for Falcone just to help her, to get her justice. But he had done it all for her, things he never wanted to do…because he loved her.

And Emmy would be damned if she didn't return the favor. She'd do anything to get Jonathan back. She'd risk all to save him. Her fingers trailed the gun, no matter what the cost would be.

Her cell phone rang in her back pocket and she reached for it numbly. "Hello?"

"Emmy?" Bridget's voice came from the other end, quiet and small which was not normal for Bridget. She was loud and cheery all the time.

"Bridge, is that you? What's wrong?"

"It's Russ."

"If he's missing he's at my place and probably furious but right now I am not having the best of days. I have a really big problem to deal with, Bridge and I can't talk. Tell Russ to call me later and yell. I can't deal with this right now," she was on the verge of crying.

"Emmy, he's in the hospital."

She felt the blood drain from her body as she fell back against the wall. "What? What happened? I just talked to him an hour ago."

"He was in a car accident. That high speed chase…he was on the road and that-that _car. _The Batman guy rushed him off. He went off the road and flipped and crashed into a tree. He was unconscious when they brought him in and I haven't heard anything and now there's some weird stuff going on and …and I don't know what to do," Bridget was crying now.

"Where are the kids?"

"At my mom's," she sniffled. "God, Em what do I do?"

"Calm down…I'll…I'll try to get there," she said. "I have something else I have to do though, Bridge. I'm sorry."

"No, Emmy, this is your brother," she said desperately.

"Bridge…I'm torn right now, believe me I am. But this involves Jonathan and I don't expect you to understand…but right now I have something I really have to do, okay? Call me when you hear something, please. I will be there as soon as I can, okay?" She hung up before her sister in law could argue.

She leaned her head into her hands and felt completely numb for the first time. Her brother was in the hospital because the Batman put him there…because _Bruce_ put him there just like Bruce put her husband in an asylum and made him the nothingness he was. Her own friend had made the ultimate betrayal. He had ruined her entire life in one night, in the span of an hour, leaving her to clean up the mess, just like he had left her six years ago. Everyone she loved and confided in was gone, unable to help her and she truly felt alone.

Emmy shook her head as the tears fell down her face. She balled her hands into fists and screamed, hitting the wall with her fists full force. She saw red on the walls, but kept hitting them, wishing it was Bruce, wishing she could hit him. She collapsed to her knees, worn out, sobbing hard, hands bleeding.

"Jonathan," she cried, burying her face in her hands. For the first time he didn't reply. No one replied, the halls were silent and outside she could hear the screams of the city, but inside the walls in the room she had last seen her husband in, she cried with no one to comfort her, not knowing if she'd ever have him there again. If last night had been the last night. If a few hours ago had been the last conversation, the last I love you, the last chance to tell him the fateful news. But he was gone... she felt truly alone for the first time in years.

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** Sorry its so short I will get a new one out ASAP. But please respond in the meantime. Thanks a bunch! **


	25. Alone in the Abyss

**A/N: Yay! I got my internet back, meaning i can now post new chapters for all you dedicated fans!It took a long time to get hooked up and this chapter is short but its my favorite one yet. Please R&R**

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**CHAPTER 25 – Alone in Abyss**

The streets screamed with the toxic fog, covering it in a thick coat that could be seen like smog from the highest rooftops, only deadlier than any air pollution. People ran in different directions, hiding in whatever corner they could crawl into to escape the ill fate of the monsters created from the depth of their imperil conscious. It sang with their cries of terror and floated trough the city, singing to the ears of the serial killers that roamed them like orange death clouds since their freedom from the icy walls of the asylum.

It sang to Scarecrow as well as he donned on his mask after they freed him, the men dressed like cops, but far from being cops. They had come into the room he was chained in and tossed his mask into his lap. He glimpsed at it then, with only raising his eyes, he lifted his gaze to the two men. They only spoke three words as they undid him.

"Time to play."

It was music to his ears. He had smiled emotionlessly as they undid the straps then, with mere grace he strolled out of the asylum, mask in one hand and let his iced eyes scan the city. It was in a rage. The entire city. He smiled and pulled the mask down and began walking. Half way towards Gotham Park he managed to knock a police officer off his horse with a branch. He hopped on the horse and took over the city, never feeling freer in his life.

He chased citizens, loving the sound of terrors erupting from their lungs as they ran, seeing him as a terrifying monster on a death horse. He cackled as he rode on and followed the others from the asylum. He recognized Zsasz. One of the men he had helped Jonathan spring from prison into the asylum.

The man's attention was on a little boy and a young woman, he stared at them then turned away into the night, searching for reinforcements …he recognized her immediately; it was Rachel Dawes. Jonathan's wife's friend. She was comforting the drugged little boy, but with no side affects herself. Batman had fixed her after all.

"It's okay, it's okay. No one's going to hurt you."

He galloped up to her on the horse. "Of course they are."

She stared at him confused. "Crane?"

He shook a finger at her. "No Scarecrow."

Rachel took off running with the little boy and he went after them. She soon found herself cornered. "There's nothing to fear," he told her, unaware of her hand fishing inside her coat pocket. "But fear itself."

Before he could dodge, Rachel fired the tazer at him and it spun, hitting him in the face. Scarecrow screamed and let go of the reins as the horse took off, dragging him along for the ride.

From the moment the shock went through him, it fired along his nerves, all he could feel was the numbing pain. He screamed and shouted, but not in pain from the shock, but because he was lost in a black void.

His foot came loose from the harness and he rolled to a stop, lying on his stomach, face buried in the crook of his arm as he breathed heavily through the mask. With a trembling hand he removed the mask, revealing a slight burn mark on his left cheek, but he didn't care for it much. He touched it gingerly and felt the burning pain. He let out a shuddering breath and lay there for a few moments, head tilted down, staring at the broken asphalt. His breath still shuddered from fear, his blue eyes jerked around the area, surveying it, unaware and unable to comprehend anything.

When found the courage, he lifted his head and let his eyes scan the area. It was deserted, nothing but trash combed the streets and the buildings were beyond abandoned. The windows were shattered and broken out, paint and plaster was crumbling from the sides. His breathing became harder, more panic filled as he pushed himself up into a crouch. He tried to stand but found his legs unable to work at the precise moment.

He sat there and buried his face in his hands, ignoring the pain in his cheek. He didn't know where he was or how he got there…the last thing he remembered…clearly remembered was a phone call and a voice, a sweet melodious voice coming from the other end of the line. But he couldn't remember.

He felt cool metal touch his face and glanced at his hand, coming face to face with a wedding band on his finger. He touched the metal and felt an instant comfort.

_"You're safe with me_." The voice said. The same voice from the phone call.

"Emmeline," the name slipped so easily from his lips. Jonathan remembered her…at least her voice. He knew she belonged to him…and that something bad had happened…something that tore them apart this very night. Something happened after that phone call. He remembered talking to another person…Rachel. But he wasn't talking to her…not alone at least. Someone else had been there, in his head, but he couldn't remember them, couldn't feel them there.

He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled, catching himself against a wall. He felt suddenly dizzy and brought his hand to his aching head, touching a cut there and letting out a pain filled hiss. He had to sit down. Had to sleep, if only for a few minutes to regain himself, to remember who he was, where he came from and what happened.

He managed to get into one of the buildings and shut the door behind him. He sat on the floor in the farthest corner behind some old wooden boxes that were piled high and leaned back, shutting his eyes.

With his eyes closed, he finally began to drift into sleep. But it was anything but peaceful. He remembered everything in those few minutes and woke up in a panic, breathing harder than before, his heart hammering in his chest, the blood pounding in his head so hard he could hear it.

His eyes jetted across the floor, but seeing nothing but the memories that rushed his mind. Emmeline. He had married her, fell madly in love after being attacked at the station. She was the one constant thing in his life that he adored. Russ…Emmy's hard headed brother that had an unknown soft spot for him. Starling…had killed his unborn child and brutalized Emmy. Falcone…he had brought down the big boss that had started the chain reaction of ruining his life. Rachel…he blamed her for everything that had happened to Emmy and partially still did. Ra's…the man he unofficially worked for and helped. Wayne…Bruce Wayne…Batman…the man that had locked him in the abyss and ruined him forever…Gotham…the city he was a fugitive in.

"Oh God," he let out a shuddering breath and buried his face in his hands as a tear slid down his dirty cheek, stinging the burn. His life was over, gone, stolen. He was alone. Left in the dark. Left back in the void he'd been locked in. Stuck in this hell hole forever in downtown Gotham. Trapped. Scared. Cold. Alone. He had nothing left. No one. At least in his mind he hadn't been physically alone, Scarecrow had ruled his body and destroyed his life. But now…he was in control of his body, what was left of his life and that was a scary truth.

He kept his face buried in his hands and wept silently.

"Emmeline," he whispered her name in the dark and for the first time he was truly alone.

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Yay...let me know what you think! 


	26. Brotherly Love

**A/N: I know, I know, it's short. I'm working on it. I'm going off of nothing right now with no ending in sight. I'm stuck between three endings. One of which can lead to a sequel. I'm trying though so give me a chance and enjoy this.**

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**CHAPTER 26 – Brotherly Love**

Emmy walked into her brother's room quietly. It was early in the morning, the sun was barely peeking and she'd yet to sleep. She doubted she could. Not in the same apartment she shared with Jonathan, knowing he wouldn't be there when she crawled under the covers. She didn't think she could bear it.

Bridget was sitting next to Russell's bed. Her head peeked up as Emmy walked in and her eyes hardened. Emmy didn't care if her sister-in-law hated her. It was the least of her problems. She was just glad Bridget kept her mouth shut for the time being. She doubted she could take anyone's lip at the moment without snapping completely in full swing. Her patience was gone and her temper was high. It was never a good thing. Only her brother could understand her now.

She was relieved to see Russ turn his head at the sound of the door and look at her with his matching blue eyes. She felt a pain inside her. Blue eyes…but not as light or glowing as Jonathan's. She glanced at the window where the curtain was peeked to let the sun shine in. It was a great view of the city. The city her husband was lost in somewhere out there.

"Hey Emmy," Russ said with a smile. He sounded perfectly fine despite the bruises and cuts on his face and the fact he was lying in the hospital because of Bruce. "Sorry I didn't stop by last night. Had to make a pit stop in a ditch."

Emmy cracked a small smile. "It's okay. I was out all night. I haven't been to bed yet."

Russ's eyes gleamed with worry. "Was it because of my accident?"

She shook her head and stopped then nodded with a shrug. "Part of it was. I had other things going on last night."

"More important than your brother?" Bridget gritted her teeth and kept her eyes low to the ground. She was pissed, her whole body was tense.

Russ batted at her hand. "Stop."

Bridget exploded in a fit, standing from her chair so fast Emmy took a step back. "No, she didn't even stop by. She hung up on me when I called her about you, Russ. _Hung up_! She knew you were in an accident and you were in a coma but she never showed up, never called back. You're her _only_ brother, the only one who hasn't _abandoned_ her and she _abandoned_ you. I didn't because I love you; you're my husband. But she hasn't been here at all and you let it slide?"

Emmy's fist was clenched as tight as her jaw. It was taking more will power than she had to not release her anger. She wanted to save it for Bruce, had to. He deserved the beating she wanted to give, not Bridget.

"Enough, Bridget," Russ told her in a warning tone, meeting her gaze. "The point is, she's here now. Why don't you go get some coffee and check up on the kids?"

"But-."

"Go!" he raised his voice in a way Emmy never heard him speak to his wife before.

Bridget seemed just as stunned and even bit her lip like a little girl being scorned. She nodded and glanced at Emmy before leaving the room.

Emmy sunk into a chair opposite the one Bridget had been in. The minute she hit the chair, her body felt heavy and she realized how tired she actually was. Not just physically, but mentally. And she still had so much left to do.

"What's wrong, Sissy?" Russ asked her gently.

"Too much, Russ," she sighed, letting her fingers comb through her hair.

"Then I suggest you start talking because I have all the time in the world in here," he said and sat up straighter.

She took a deep breath and crossed her legs. "It kind of collided with you last night."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the same person took out you and Jonathan."

"Jonathan?" he became confused. "What's wrong with him?"

Emmeline became silent for a moment, unsure if she could speak of it all without crying. She'd cried so much as it was at the asylum. She wasn't sure if she could break again.

"What happened last night, Emmy?" Russ whispered caringly to her.

She shook her head. "Jonathan's gone."

"What?"

She lifted her head. "He's gone. I was right. Something did happen. Batman got him. Gassed him with this toxin and Jonathan basically went insane. He escaped from the asylum last night when it exploded and I haven't been able to find him. I've been looking all night and I don't know what to do. Its why I didn't come by last night when I got the call."

"Oh Emmy," Russ sighed and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it from her eyes. "That's understandable. You love Jonathan and he was in danger…still is. But you'll find him."

"I hope so, Russ. I don't know what I'll do when I do find him…he's wanted by the entire city, at least by the police department. The city doesn't know about what he did which is better. But I still can't bring him back home, Russ…our life here is gone…"

"It'll be okay," he promised her. "You'll figure this all out. You always do."

"I don't think it'll be that easy this time, Russ. If I do find Jonathan then…then we'd have to leave."

"Leave? But where?"

Emmy thought it over. "China."

"Why China?"

"I can't tell you," she shook her head sadly. "It's best you don't know. That way if anyone asks you, you can honestly answer."

"You're leaving?"

"If I have to, then yes. I'll do anything to keep Jonathan safe, Russ. You'd do the same thing for Bridget."

He nodded his head. "Are…are you leaving now?"

Emmy sighed and glanced at the window, at the city her husband was lost in. She twisted the wedding ring on her finger, trying to find comfort in it. "Not right away. I have some unfinished business with an old friend."

Russ sighed and took a deep breath. "You be careful. I should be back at home later today. You can find me there. At least drop by before you go."

"I will," she promised and stood from her chair, heading towards the front door. "I'll see you later, Russ."

"I love you," he called out to her. "Good luck, Em."

She gave him a faint smile. "Thanks." She shut the door behind her and headed to home to her apartment. It felt like anything but home, she noticed as she stepped through the front door twenty minutes later. Without Jonathan the room was sucked of the life she loved and the comfort she knew. Wearily, Emmy moved to the bedroom and kicked off her shoes, lying on her bed. She clutched Jonathan's pillow tight to her chest and lay there. She had unfinished business to attend to. But it could wait, she thought as she fell into a peaceful sleep, dreaming on Jonathan and the life she had.

* * *

**It'll be awhile till you get a new chapter because I have _no_ idea whats coming next so be patient. R&R in the meantime.**


	27. Excuses

**A/N: Ohhh boy. This is starting to get close to the end. And I found my ending! I have no idea what you guys will think of it, but I'll find out soon enough. I'm loving all the responses I'm getting. I'm hearing a lot of people saying they think Jonathan and Emmy should be together in the end and others saying they should both go to China. Others think Ra's is up to something. I love it! And believe me I took it all into consideration but I told my best friend my ending and she's never read this story. She loved it. So I'm taking it as a good sign. Enjoy this chapter! R&R as usual!**

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**CHAPTER 27 - Excuses**

Emmy parked her car halfway up the sloping ramp. The gate had been wide open for dump trucks to come in and out as they pleased with the debris from the mansion. It had burnt down last night. Emmy liked to think karma bit Bruce on the ass, but she knew it had been Ra's Al Ghul who'd done that. Why else would he have been at Bruce's party? She doubted it was to wish him a happy birthday.

Right as she parked, Rachel's car came down the ramp. She wished her friend would have just kept on going, but she didn't. She recognized Emmy and stopped her car.

Emmy got out of her car just as Rachel hurried over to her. "Emmy, I'm glad you're okay," she hugged her friend. Emmy didn't return the gesture. Rachel pulled back. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," Emmy said bitterly, leaning against her car.

Rachel shrugged and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Came by to see Bruce after I heard about the fire. I wanted to make sure he was okay."

"Uh huh, because he really cared if we were okay all these years and he was so concerned for us about last night that he rushed down to see us this morning," Emmy said sarcastically.

Rachel frowned at her behavior. "Are you all right, Emmy?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Rachel. Bruce may think it's cute but it's annoying as hell to me."

"What are you talking about, Em?"

Emmy stepped closer to her friend, to the point they were only inches away. "You know _exactly _what I'm talking about. You're my best friend but you haven't called me once since yesterday to see how I was doing. And you _knew _what happened because you were _there_."

Rachel's eyes widened as she realized what Emmy was talking about.

"Yeah, Rach," she stepped back. "I know."

"How?"

"Because I had called Jonathan right before he met with you. He told me he was meeting with you, Rachel," Emmy paused before going on, finding it harder to talk bout the last time she saw her husband, "And then…I saw him in the asylum, tied to a chair in a straight jacket. Only it wasn't Jonathan, least not the man I married, but it was still a part of him, no matter how crazy he was. And he told me what had happened to Jonathan, what Batman had done to him. And now he's missing."

Rachel shook her head slowly. "Jonathan was going to kill me, Emmy. Batman saved me."

"NO!" she yelled causing her former friend to jump. "Jonathan was trying to save you, not Batman. He ruined it. Jonathan was going to give you the solution before Batman came. He gassed you to save you because you were running away and he couldn't let all those cons know he was playing nice guy. He was going to help you…but Batman came."

"He stopped Jonathan."

"For all I know he killed him, Rachel. He destroyed Jonathan. He destroyed my husband," she felt the tears in her eyes again. "I haven't been able to find him yet."

Rachel licked her lips in a quick motion. "I saw him last night."

Emmy's eyes shot up to Rachel's face and the tears froze. "When?"

"I don't know, it was about eleven. He was on a horse and talking crazy. He tried to kill me."

"It wasn't Jonathan. That wasn't Jonathan. That was Scarecrow."

Rachel frowned. "That's what he told me…how did you know?"

"Because I saw him in the asylum. It wasn't Jonathan. I just told you that. It was another part of Jonathan that Batman let out."

"He wouldn't do that."

"I'm not going to stand here and waste time arguing with you. Was Jonathan okay when you left him?"

"I don't know," she shrugged.

Emmy felt like hitting her until she gave her a straight answer. "What do you mean? You saw him."

"Yeah, I did."

"Where was it at?"

"I dunno," she thought about it for a moment. "It was near the Narrows, about half a mile from the asylum. On Broad Street near 3rd."

"Was he okay?"

Rachel hesitated before speaking. "Yes…but I hit him with my tazer gun and he fell off the horse it dragged him away down Broad more towards eighth."

Emmy stood there unmoving. A tazer gun. Rachel hit her husband with a tazer gun. "You shocked him…"

"It didn't kill him. Just stopped him. He was insane."

"He's my husband."

"He was going to kill me."

"Just like Bruce almost killed him!"

Emmy froze realizing what she had just said. Rachel stared at her, both of them frozen.

"Bruce…" Rachel whispered.

"Forget I said anything."

"How do you know?"

Emmy stared at her a moment before it dawned on her that Rachel knew too. "It doesn't matter. If you'll excuse me I need to go talk to Bruce."

"Emmy wait," she grabbed Emmeline's arm. "Bruce had nothing to do with this."

Emmy wretched her arm away and spun to Rachel causing her to stumble away from her anger. "He had _everything _to do with Jonathan disappearing and Russ being in the hospital."

"Russ?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Yeah, after Batman rushed you off in his car he knocked a few cars off the road. One was Russ's. It flipped off the road when Bruce shoved him off. But you're right Bruce had _nothing _to do with it. Just like you didn't."

"Emmy, please…"

"Get away from me, Rachel and just stay away. As far as I'm concerned, you died last night."

Emmy turned her back on her former friend and walked the rest of the way up already fuming with anger. She found Bruce standing amongst the debris of his mansion.

"Emmeline," Bruce greeted her as she approached the steadily rebuilding property. "To what do I owe this pleasure seeing as how you last left me flat on my back from a very strong right hook."

"Blame my brothers for that one," she told him coldly.

"You come to apologize?"

"No," she said bluntly. "I don't regret it. In fact I'm more likely to do it again."

She took pleasure in the fact Bruce took a step back from her. "What can I do for you, Emmy?"

"You can start by calling me Emmeline."

"Ouch," Bruce put a hand over his chest. "Full first name basis. You really are in a bad mood."

She chuckled bitterly. "Don't get me started, Bruce. I would love to slit your throat where you stand after last night."

Bruce's smile faded at her words as he realized she wasn't joking with her anger or the threat. "What's gotten into you?"

"Jonathan's missing," she told him flat out and watched his reactions carefully to see how he played it out.

"Really?" Bruce said and pondered it over, eyes down cast for a moment before looking back up at her. "And let me guess, you'd like my help in finding him after last night."

"No, after last night, I actually want you to stay the fuck away from him. Don't go looking for him – at all."

Her venomous swearing caught Bruce off guard. "Why?"

"Because he's my concern," she spoke low, but angry.

"He's a threat to the city, I don't know-"

She cut him off there irately and yelled out her fury. "He's a threat to you!"

Bruce actually stumbled back and she continued. "He's only a threat to you because he feels threatened by the presence of you now. He'd _never _hurt me or anyone else in this damned city. Only _you_. That's why I want you to stay away from him. Leave us alone."

"Why would he feel threatened by me?"

"Maybe because of what you did. And it's taking everything in me not to slam you across the face right now and beat you till you can't breathe. I'd like nothing more than that. Trust me."

"What did I do?" he asked but she noticed the tone in his voice drop to one of defense.

"You made him insane. You turned him into a monster last night when you gassed him and then slammed his head against THE WALL! You made Jonathan disappear into the Scarecrow and I can't find him. And then, if that wasn't enough that you did to me, while you were out driving away from the cops, you knocked my brother's car off the road. He's in the hospital," she felt the tears threaten to overcome her.

"That…that wasn't me. It was…"

"Batman," she hissed quietly and stepped closer so his secret wouldn't be exposed to any workers who might have been eavesdropping. "You are Batman. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Batman didn't show up until you came back. Whenever Batman's around you disappear. And if that wasn't enough, Ra's Al Ghul told me."

The stricken look on Bruce's face was enough for her to know it was all true. "Emmeline I…"

She held up her hand and took a step away. "Save it for someone who cares, I'm beyond apologies. Just remember what I said, Bruce. Stay away from Jonathan. He's my concern not yours. And if you think he's a threat, you don't want to cross me. It's not Jonathan you should be worried about," she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Bruce standing there dumbstruck and every ounce of her was still begging him to try and find Jonathan, that way she had an excuse to kill him.


	28. Different Perspectives

**A/N: Yay! A longer chapter cut into four parts with different characters. I figured I'd end this story quick instead of just posting one short section at a time. It's dangerously close to the end now and it's not what you think…or I think that it's not what you think is going to happen. Read to find out what happens here**

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**CHAPTER 28 – Different Perspectives**

The darkness was never ending in the void he was trapped in. It was frigidly cold, his skin was chilled with goosebumps under the dirty jacket he had on even though he could see the streaks of sun slash across the floor from the morning glare outside. Even with the sun shinning in the darkening sky, the darkness still reigned and he felt trapped in its depth and still so alone in more ways than one.

He felt the Scarecrow in his mind but it was different than before. It wasn't a separate being anymore, it was melded in him with complete control. And now he found no use for that power or strength. Not anymore. Not when there was nothing good he could use it for. Not when he was trapped behind the broken walls of the building, to weak to leave them. Not when Emmeline was nowhere to be seen or found and he doubted he'd ever see her again.

A tear slid down his cheek as he thought of her warmth and passion. Her very being could light the darkest of rooms, even the one he was ensnared in. A small smile crossed his full lips as he thought of her green eyes shinning and that big child like grin she'd get when she was happy. She was always happy. They had both been happy for years, but now…everything had changed, everything was different because of Batman, because of Bruce. He felt a bubble of anger grow in his core as he thought of the billionaire. He'd done this to them, ruined their lives and took away everything they had worked so long to build.

Jonathan shifted slightly in the corner he sat in and tilted his head back against the wall. "Batman," the word fell from him like venom. He'd never let the bat destroy him or hurt Emmeline again, not as long as he lived. He wasn't strong enough to leave his shelter yet, but when the time came he would. He'd find Emmeline and protect her from Bruce no matter what. Until then he was lost in the dark cold void he had yet to heal from.

* * *

Bruce finished putting on the bat suit, locking his utility belt around his waist. The visit from Emmeline had shaken him to the core. Crane was still alive and loose somewhere in the city. He was still a threat, especially now that he was gassed by his own toxin. He had seen the side effects that gasses caused, felt them first hand. If they had that kind of power over him then what did they do to Crane? What was Crane still capable of doing? He had already tried to kill Rachel, who would be next? Bruce couldn't let that happen, whether he was Emmeline's husband or not.

"Are you going out, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked curiously studying him from a corner of the room.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am."

"And what is the purpose this time?"

"Crane," Bruce said simply.

Alfred's eyes widened in surprise. "Isn't he lost somewhere in the city? Wasn't Detective Gordon unable to find him?"

"Yes, but I know someone who can."

"Who would that be?"

"Emmeline," he said meeting Alfred's eyes.

They widened further. "Good Heavens. You are not going to follow that poor girl."

"That's my plan," he nodded.

"Master Bruce, I find myself disagreeing to that by the highest level. The poor girl has been through enough, don't add more to her pain," Alfred warned him sternly.

"I'm not adding to her pain. Her husband is a threat to the city. He's not even her husband anymore. Her husband died a long time ago."

"But she still loves him," Alfred declared. "I've been to dinner with them, I've seen their love. It's purer than anything else I've ever seen. It's sincere."

"She's blinded by it, Alfred. Which is exactly why I need to find Crane. To help her."

"If you want to help her then leave her be. Let her help her husband."

"She can't help him if she's already warped by him."

"Emmeline is a very intelligent girl. If she believes she can help save her husband then I believe she can. Don't get in the middle of that, Master Bruce."

"I need to do what needs to be done."

"What you _think _needs to be done. Everything you think that needs to be done isn't always right. You only see things from your perspective. Why not try hers?"

He sighed irritated by this conversation. His mind was set, why couldn't Alfred adjust to that? "Because it's warped by him."

"And she believes the same of yours. Which is precisely why she quit her job and gave up her own life. Because she's doing what she feels is right."

"And so am I. For the greater good."

"Exactly what she believes," he nodded.

"What are you getting at, Alfred?"

"All I'm saying is that you should be careful. This could be the greatest mistake you ever regret to make if you're wrong about this. It can haunt you for the rest of your life. You could be destroying her more than helping. You don't know everything, Bruce, and should never assume you do."

"I know what I'm doing. I'll be back later," Bruce jumped into the Batmobile before Alfred could say another word and took off through the waterfall.

Alfred watched him go with a shake of his head. "I hope you're right about this or you'll be doing more damage than good…But I fear you're wrong."

* * *

The wind whipped through her hair and she zipped her jacket up tighter. It was dark out now, the sky was pitch black with stars dotting through it every now and then. The perfect time to search for her husband in the last area he had been seen. Daylight was too dangerous ironically to search for him. Too many people around even in a dead area like this one. Jonathan had always preferred the night to the day anyway. They both did. If there was anytime to look for him it was now.

Emmy stood on Broad and looked at the tall building in front of her that ended in a dead corner. She looked around and saw 3rd was the cross street. This is where it happened. Where Rachel had stood and her husband had last been seen. She lugged the backpack over her shoulder more, it carried some of her clothes as well as Jonathan's. She was planning on leaving the minute she found him. They'd leave Gotham and never look back at the place they once lived. None of it would matter anyway. As long as she had Jonathan, she'd be home, she'd have everything she ever wanted and needed in his arms, in his eyes, in his smile. It was where she belonged.

She stopped twisting her wedding ring and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket. She glanced down Broad Street in the direction Rachel ha said the horse had gone.

"The slums," Emmy whispered. It seemed like the perfect place Jonathan would hide now. The slums were empty, the most abandoned place in all of Gotham. The perfect place for him to hide from anyone who may have been looking for him that was a danger. She'd found him in worse before.

She removed a flashlight from the backpack and shone it down the darkened street, looking for any sign of disturbance. She'd been good at her job for years and it boiled down to the biggest mystery of all, finding her husband. She began walking in the general direction, never sensing the shadow following her from above, building to building. She was only focused on finding Jonathan.

* * *

Russ stared out the hospital window. Bridget had gone home to see the kids after he basically threw her out of the room to get her to do so. There was no reason for her to sit with him all night. He wasn't going anywhere until the next morning. And he had far too much on his mind to sit and listen to her speak about nothing and anything. Not that he didn't like hearing his wife's stories, it was just he had one thing on his mind: his sister.

He was worried about her. About what she was doing. He knew she was out there right now, searching for her husband in the middle of the city. And as tough as he taught her to be, as much as he taught her to fight, he still feared for her in a way only a brother could. She was his only sibling, at least the only one that hadn't abandoned him intentionally and he cared for her.

A knock startled him and he took a breath. "Come in."

The door creaked open and Rachel stepped in, shutting the door behind her. She held a vase of colorfully assorted flowers in one hand and a bear in the other. "Hey, I heard about your accident." She set the flowers and the bear on the table next to another beige colored bear and took a seat next to him. "How you feeling, Russ?"

"Physically, I feel fine. Just a little sore and bruised."

"What else is wrong?"

"Stuff on my mind," he shrugged and his eyes flickered to the window where the city was lit below like nothing had ever happened the night before.

Rachel nodded her head and let out a sigh as she too looked out. "Emmy."

He nodded his head. "Yeah."

"I saw her," Rachel said staring at her hands in her lap. Russ could tell this was going in a bad direction already. "This afternoon, that's how I knew about you."

"What went on?"

She shook her head. "She's not real happy with me. In fact she hates me."

"What?" he asked in confusion. They had been best friends since the beginning of time. It wasn't possible for Emmy to hate Rachel. It was no where in the plan book, but then again a lot of things weren't like him being in a hospital and Bruce being back and Jonathan missing and his sister… "What makes you say that?"

"Because she said I'm dead to her. That I died last night," Rachel sniffled a little.

"Why would she hate you?"

"Because…" Rachel's eyes moved around the room before meeting his. "Because I knew where Jonathan was. I knew what happened and I'm on a different side than she is."

"What do you mean different side?"

She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her face. "Emmy believes Jonathan was only trying to help the city, purge it somehow. She believes he's not a bad guy at all and that Batman is the bad guy."

He felt his blood run cold. "And you don't."

She chewed her lower lip. "No…I don't think Batman is bad guy. I think he's doing what he feels is right."

"Jesus, Rachel. Sometimes what someone thinks is right isn't. Look what he did to me," Russ gestured at the hospital room he was stuck in. "He could have killed me and a lot of other people by doing what he thought was right."

"I know," she said angrily. "I don't know anymore," she chewed her lower lip again and stared at the floor. She only did that when she was thinking hard about something she regretted.

"What else is on your mind?"

She shook her head flustered. "I don't…I think I may have done something wrong."

"What now?"

Rachel was silent and Russ wasn't in the mood for her games. He reached over and grabbed her arm despite the protest in his ribs. "What did you do, Rachel?"

She stared at him and a tear slid down her cheek. "I told her where Jonathan was."

His grip eased. "How is that bad?"

"Because," she whispered. "Batman will follow her."

Russ felt the blood drain from his face and stared out the window. Emmy would find her husband…but Batman would find him as well. This certainly wasn't in the plan book.

He turned his head down and let go of Rachel's arm as it all sunk in. "I think I need to rest now."

Rachel nodded. "I'll come see you when you get home."

He nodded and said nothing more as she left. He thought back to his sister. She had stopped by earlier that afternoon after getting some sleep and had said nothing about seeing Rachel or finding out where Jonathan may be. She brought him a simple teddy bear that was made of a soft material he loved. He had one similar to it when he was a kid, but it was lost in the move he had made from one place to another. She'd only come by for a few minutes because she had "other business to attend to". He didn't know what she meant by that as she stood there, smiling at him with a sadness in her eyes. A sadness he had associated with Jonathan's absence, but what he now realized was her good-bye. She was leaving tonight. It all pieced together. She had said she loved him and to tell the kids that too. He had taken it like it was nothing. He remembered the end of the conversation. It had ended the same as their first earlier in the morning when she said she'd be leaving when she found Jonathan.

_"At least drop by before you go," he had asked her. _

_"I will," she had said with a small smile. "I love you. I'll see you later, Russ."_

A tear slid down Russ's cheek as he stared out the window, holding the bear, wishing to see his sister. She'd be back someday. He knew that much. He closed his eyes, praying that God heard him and would keep her safe and send her home. That Batman wouldn't find her, that her life would finally piece back together with no interference. He opened his eyes and smiled through the tears of pain he felt. "I'll see you later, Sissy," he whispered to no one and sat in silence, staring at the city below where his sister's life played out.


	29. End of Heartache

**A/N: Whewwww…getting closer to it. This is a short but a nice chapter that might foreshadow a happy ending. R& R in the meantime. Oh and the lyrics in the beginning arent mine theyre from the band Killswitch Engage and the song is (surprise) called End of Heartache**

* * *

**CHAPTER 29 – End of Heartache**

_Seek me for comfort  
Call me for solace  
I'll be waiting  
For the end of my broken heart_

Emmy followed the dark street down deeper into the slums. She'd been walking for forty-five minutes now. With the speed the horse had been going at she guessed she'd only traveled ten maybe fifteen minutes of its distance. And there was still no sign of anything that could relate to where Jonathan may have been.

She ran her hand through her hair with a loud sigh as the wind whipped it across her face in the dead street. Her flashlight beam scanned the streets and came to a stop in the middle of it. With a frown she covered the distance between her and the only item she had seen for miles.

Her breath caught on her throat as she bent down and picked up the raggedy item. It was a burlap sack, the Scarecrow's mask. He was here. He was right here. She scanned the area, throwing the beam of her flashlight every which way. If he had been hit with a tazer, dragged by a horse and came to a stop here after he got free then he didn't move very far.

"Jonathan," she whispered the name and her eyes stopped on the broken down building in front of her. With a deep breath she approached it quietly, shoes crunching on the gravel. She found an entrance in the very front through the broken door of the warehouse, a small crawl space big enough for an average size person to fit through. She ducked under it and moved through the building.

Moonlight cascaded down from the hole in the ceiling, filling the place with light. Emmy could see everything clearly from the full moon. It was a wide-open area of nothing but abandoned shelves and planks of wood. A rigid staircase was in front of her leading to a catwalk fifteen feet above the ground that, despite the years, looked sturdy enough and wide enough to be on. Other than that, the place was deserted, but something drew her here, there was a reason she picked this building of all buildings on the street.

Something caught her eye from the corner and Emmy flashed her light, catching something white that was hidden behind a corner. She turned the corner of the shelf and squatted down in the farthest corner, picking up the garment with one hand. Her heart beat faster, it was a straitjacket. The same one she had seen Jonathan wearing the last time she saw him. She was right to come in here, because he was here somewhere.

"Jonathan," she said the name louder.

A clanking noise came from above and Emmy jerked her head up to the walk above. She stood and moved slowly to the staircase, taking the stairs one at a time slowly as she followed the noise up. She wasn't sure what kind of shape her husband would be in and she didn't want to do anything to scare him or provoke him into further injury. He had been insane when she last saw him, with no trace of the man she loved. What if he had grown worse? What if he was beyond help?

No. She wouldn't let herself think that. She could help Jonathan. She had to. She couldn't give up on him without giving up on her self. He was her life, where he went she would follow and vice versa. She had made the vow for better or worse and she'd live it through. She was nearly to the top now and couldn't stop the shaking in her hands as the light wavered. She flashed the light from the left and spun it slowly to the right and froze.

The light struck blue eyes that stared back at her in a pale face. She felt her heart stop for a second and the burning in her lungs told her she had stopped breathing for a second. She took a deep breath and hesitated unsure of what to do. He looked fragile and scared as he sat there, huddled in the corner of the walkway in his dirty clothing. He had never looked so broken before, so lost.

Emmy licked her suddenly dry lips. "Jonathan," she whispered his name again hoping to get a better response than she had gotten the other night at the asylum, hoping he'd recognize his name and her.

His blue eyes scanned the area and stopped on her, unsure of what to make of it, as if it were all a dream or an ambush. "Emmy," he whispered back.

A soft cry escaped her throat and she stood there, taking a step closer. He shrank back a little and she stopped, unsure once more of how to react. "Do you remember me?"

He stared at her for a moment and Emmy felt hope fade in her. "How…how could I forget?"

Emmy let the tears of relief fall as she slowly inched closer, getting on her knees to get near him without scaring him and to be at his level since he was still sitting down. When she was four feet away she stopped and placed the flashlight down. She could see him clearly in the moonlight, could see his sharp features, his blue eyes, those kissable lips, and the burn scar on his cheek. She reached her hand out and delicately brushed her fingers on his smooth skin, touching the scar Rachel had left him. He let out a small hiss of pain and she was about to retract her hand when he grabbed it, holding it in place causing her to hold her breath.

He rubbed his cheek against her hand, fingers lightly touching her wedding ring. She smiled warmly and felt the wetness on her palm from a tear. "I thought I'd never see you again," he said in s hushed whisper. "I thought I had lost everything."

She shook her head. "Then you are an idiot to think I wouldn't find you. Where you go I'll follow. Wherever you are, I am. I'll always find you."

"I thought I was gone. I thought he got rid of me…but I saw you," Jonathan told her, gripping her hand tighter in his. "You were the last thing I saw when I fell into the darkness and the first thing I thought of when I came out of it…and now," he shook his head. "Look what's happened. Everything is ruined."

"No it's not," she shook her head and touched his cheek, moving his head to meet her eyes. "I know everything, I know Ra's. Everything will be fine. We're together and we're going to leave together and never come back here. We'll leave it all behind and start off somewhere else. Just you and me. A family. Because as long as I have you I have everything I need, Jonathan."

He smiled at her and shook his head. "Now I know why I love you."

"Because I'm cute and sexy and good in bed," she teased.

He laughed. She loved the sound of it, savored every second of it. "Besides that. Because you're my everything. You're the only reason I'm alive, the only thing that keeps me sane and the only person worth fighting for. And when I'm with you, nothing else matters. Not where we are or what happened or where we're going. There's just you and me…it'll always be you and me."

He moved faster than she expected and she wasn't expecting him to be so warm and open. Before Emmy knew it he had filled up that gap between them and was hugging her, holding her in his arms and Emmy let him. She held him tight, burying her face in his neck, inhaling his scent and feeling his warmth. She smiled to herself as his lips met hers and the warmth flowed through her again chasing the bitterness and void out of her heart. Everything would finally be okay. Everything would work out. She'd make sure if of it because she needed him as much as he needed her and she wouldn't lose him again. For the first time in two days, she felt home. She had her husband back and she was home at last.


	30. Three Point Tragedy

**A/N: I felt like I could have written this better so I'm really disappointed with the way I wrote it. There's one chapter after this. Enjoy…R&R PLEASE! The song is I Shall Belive by Sheryl Crow. Listen to the song while reading this or read the lyrics afterward. It makes it more emotional.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 30 - Three Point Tragedy**

**_"That not everything is gonna be the way  
You think it ought to be  
It seems like every time I try to make it right  
It all comes down on me  
Please say honestly you won't give up on me  
And I shall believe_** ."

After a good half hour of doing nothing but sitting there and holding and kissing Jonathan, Emmy decided it was a good time to leave this abandoned lot for another life, far away from Gotham.

"What about the apartment?" Jonathan argued, as they still sat there, back against the bars, her head against his shoulder.

"Taken care of. Its paid for. And if they do decided to sell it, then everything will go into storage, but its fully paid for and they have no need to sell it or rent it out."

"What about Russ?" he asked again, trying to find any corner or loop hole to get her to stay.

"I already said good-bye," she told him softly, not wanting to think of her last minutes with her brother. All that mattered was that she had her husband and she was happy.

"Okay then. What about your job?"

"I quit."

"What?" he exclaimed, moving to look at her more clearly.She smiled at him in a non joking manner. She was serious. She had quit the job of her dreams and rendered him speechless.

She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. "I quit the night you lost yourself. I couldn't work for people who believed you were bad. Not when I knew the truth."

He let out a defeated sigh and kissed her forehead before pressing his against hers. She saw the flicker of fear in his blue eyes from so close. "What about Batman?" he whispered against her lips.

She shook her head. "Bruce won't do anything. He knows I'm a threat to him."

Jonathan was silent for a moment before backing away and nodding his head. "Okay," he stood to his feetand Emmy followed. "Let's leave here then."

Emmy smiled. "That's the best idea I've heard in a long time."

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"It's a surprise," she smiled and held his hand, back turned to the other side of the walkway. "And I got more than one surprise for you."

"Really?" he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Yes, and you'll love it as much as you'll love where we go."

"I don't care where we go as long as I'm with you," he told her and kissed her fully.

Emmy wrapped her arms around his neck puling him tighter to her. She never wanted the moment to end, never wanted anything to end. But she heard the clank of metal behind her, heard the swish and knew it all to well as she felt every muscle in Jonathan tense as he pulled away and looked over her shoulder.

"No," Emmy whispered too afraid to turn around for fear of what or who she'd see. This wasn't part of the plan. He wasn't supposed to be here.

Emmy ever so slowly turned around and saw Batman standing there. There was no way her and Jonathan could make it to the staircase that stood between her and Bruce. He'd be quicker than both of them.

"No," she said louder so he could hear her and she took a step forward, letting her hand fall away from Jonathan's. "You followed me? You used me."

"I'm doing what I have to," Batman said with that deep voice that wasn't Bruce's.

"You didn't have to do anything. I told you to leave us alone. I told you that if you even tried to find Jonathan I would be the one you should worry about. Just let us leave, Bruce. Do that much for me. Let us go."

She saw the flicker in his eyes. "I can't do that."

"Yes you can. You can let us walk out of here and we'll never ever come back to Gotham. We weren't planning to anyway."

"He needs to answer for what he's done."

"He already has, Batman. He's lost enough. Don't do this"

Batman just stood there and he took a step forward. Emmy braced herself, putting her arms out and stepping forward. "You're not touching him," she snarled at Batman, blocking his path.

"Move Emmeline," he said softly despite the demand it carried.

"No, he's no threat to you. I won't let you hurt him."

"Move."

"No."

He took a step forwards and Emmeline let him have it as she lost all control of her anger. She rushed him, swinging her leg wide.

"Emmy, no!" Jonathan shouted from behind her.

She didn't listen though she should have for health reasons. The roundhouse kick caught Bruce in the jaw by surprise and Bruce stumbled back. She kicked again, knocking him in the other direction. She swung her leg again but he caught it this time and flipped her, she twisted with the leverage and used it to kick him in the face once more, sending blood flying in the air as she bust his lip open. She landed back on her feet and Bruce stared at the blood on his gloved hands with surprise then anger.

He came at her and she swung but he caught her arm. She tried to kick but he caught her leg and picked her up. Emmy struggled to get away, but before she could slip away from him, he threw her to the side. Emmy fell off the ten foot platform to the ground, landing on her side. She let out a cry and rolled, laying there, the air smashed from her lungs and the pain in her head throbbing. She put a hand to her stomach to stop the nausea and rolled to her knees but stopped as the world spun, hoping she hadn't done too much damage.

"Emmy!" Jonathan shouted as Batman tossed her over the railing edge.

Emmy let out a cry as she rolled to a stop.

* * *

Jonathan let out a snarl as his icy eyes focused on Batman, his hands forming into fists as he saw Batman throw his wife to the side. The anger in him boiled over. He hurt her. He heard her cry out, watched her grab her stomach and stay still bent over on her knees. He had sworn to himself that he'd protect her no matter what, that he would fight for her. But Emmeline needed him. His eyes flickered back and forth. He could take Batman now, but he'd be risking time that Emmy may need of him. His love for her won out his anger in the end. With one last lethal look at Batman, Jonathan rushed forward towards the staircase opening in front of him, to get to his injured wife 

He barely saw Batman move to his utility belt and throw the object at him. Barely saw it as his hand reached the railing and his left foot hit the step. Barely saw anything until he looked down at his stomach and saw it.

* * *

Bruce threw Emmy over the side. The last hit had boiled his anger over. If the bitch wanted to play rough then he'd play. Besides, the last hit hurt. He didn't know she was capable of such movement and strength. He watched her hit the floor and roll with a small cry, heard Jonathan shout for her. He turned his attention back to Crane then. His eyes were nothing but pure iced rage as he stared at him, hands curled into fists. His eyes flickered from Emmy to him back and forth. And then he ran forwards. 

Batman's hand automatically went for his belt, pulling out one of his Bat blades. He threw it as he heard Emmy shout and realized his mistake. Jonathan was going for the staircase…not him. He was going to his injured wife…not him. Bruce moved to stop it, but couldn't correct his mistake. He saw the doctor's hand touch the railing, his foot hit the step and then it was all over and Bruce felt the world spin, felt the blood drain from his face, heard Emmy's pain filled cry and heard Alfred's words ring true. It was the biggest mistake he'd live to regret.

* * *

She lifted her head up despite the throbbing pain in her head. Luckily it was the only pain she felt in her body besides the dull throb in her leg from the way she landed. On her hands and knees she looked up at the walkway and frze in terror at what she was seeing. She saw everything in those few moments. She saw it before Bruce did. She saw what Jonathan was trying to do and saw Bruce interpret it all wrong. She saw there was nothing she could do to stop any of it, nothing she could do to stop her world from ending with a crash. 

"BRUCE, NO!" she screamed with all the force she had and watched helplessly. The bat shaped blade cut straight into Jonathan, right into his stomach.

It felt as if time had frozen around her. Everything moved in slow motion as the blade sunk into her husband, unable to deflect it in anyway. She watched as Bruce stared in shock at what he had just done, and the mistake he had just made. Emmy felt the blood drain from her face and let out a low moan as Jonathan gasped and stared in shock. One hand was still on the railing, the other wrapped around the metal and pulled it out. He held it up staring at the thick blood that damaged the once perfectly polished beauty of it. His blood. He let it go and it fell to the floor, the blade clattering away.

The noise seemed to awaken Emmy from the shock she was frozen in. She ran to Jonathan. Just as she reached the top of the stairs, he collapsed, unable to stay on his feet any longer. She fell next to him, crouched by him on the ground as blood seeped from the grievous wound in rivers.

"Baby, stay with me," she whispered to him, lifting his head into her lap and trying desperately to stop the bleeding with her other hand. The wound was high and to the right, she'd seen people shot and stabbed in these areas while working her job, the results were always bleak.

"We'll get you to a hospital. It's the least Bruce can do to help," she lifted her head up to where Bruce had been standing only to find he had disappeared.

"Bruce?" she called out but only heard the sound of her echo and the faint sound of tires squealing away. Bruce left. He left her there with her wounded husband, unable to get him help. He had caused all this, had made a mistake that cost her everything. She shook her head. "No, no, no." She turned back to Jonathan. His breathing was heavy and rattling, she could hear the blood in the back of his throat. He had pierced his lung and God knew what else.

"Stay withme, please." Tears ran down her cheeks, she couldn't help it. She had finally found him. Everything was going to be perfect. They were going to leave and go somewhere where no one knew who they were. They were going to be happy. It wasn't supposed to end like this, Batman wasn't supposed to ruin their lives again. She was supposed to be happy with her family, not this. Never this. The tears seemed to come down her cheeks faster now as she realized she was about to lose him again, and this time he wouldn't be coming back.

Jonathan smiled weakly, touching her face, wiping the tears with his fingers. "First thing I see," he whispered to himself.

Emmeline cried harder, gripping the hand that touched her face. She knew this was his good-bye. She had been the first thing he saw from the time in the subway to the hospital to every morning and now this. She was the first thing he saw before he died. Her hand tightened on the wound, but the more she pressed against it the more blood spilled. "Please don't leave me, Jonathan, please. I need you so much. I love you. You can't do this."

His lips moved but no sound came out and his eyes began closing and his hand began losing its grip, going slack. She shook him a little, exposing her two-month kept secret, anything to get him to stay. "Jonathan, please no. You have a son. You're going to be a dad finally. Please don't go. Please. I love you." Nothing she said stopped the process.

"It's okay," he whispered so low she barely heard him. "It'll be okay…always loved you."

"Stay with me, Jonathan. I can't do this alone. There's so much left for us to do, please, Jonathan...You can't go where I can't follow you." The light in his eyes faded for the second time in two days and they slowly closed. She pressed her lips to his and felt him respond weakly to her. She pulled away and held him tighter but no matter how tightly she held him, death pried him loose. She heard his last breath, felt his chest go still. Death had won, taking the love of her life with him and leaving her alone and her child fatherless.

Emmeline froze and held her breath as she sat there next to his corpse. He was gone from her, too far for her to follow. Her world was shattered, her home destroyed. She shook her head slowly and closed her eyes, letting out an anguished scream as she cried harder than she ever had in her life for this was the greatest pain she had ever felt.


	31. Wondering Thoughts

**A/N: The final chapter. A mere conclusion to the last chapter. And yes Jonathan is dead, no he is not coming back and this story is COMPLETE!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 31 – Wondering Thoughts**

Emmeline hopped off the back of the car as it slowed down to a reasonable pace for her to exit. The men in the back thought she was insane for getting off in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but fields and snow covered mountains in her wake. Emmeline didn't care what they thought. She didn't care for anything anymore, at least not for anyone but the child inside her. Everything else she had cared about died a week ago.

She had sat there, holding Jonathan's body in her arms for God knew how long before she finally stood, unsure of what to do but knowing she couldn't leave him there to rot. She had walked home. She didn't remember how she had gotten there, but she had gone and drove back, putting his body in the car and with a strength she didn't knew she had, she had buried him in Central Park, far from where anyone would notice, near the lake they had first kissed. She sat there for a while, unable to cry, unable to feel anything.

But she felt the hate and anger now towards Bruce. For everything he had done. Jonathan had been no threat. They could have left. Only Gotham would have cared to have stopped them and even with all the bigger threats of the other convicts who had escaped, Jonathan wouldn't have been too deep on the radar. Bruce had taken care of it anyway, had killed him. Whether it was by accident or not, Emmy no longer cared, all she wanted was what she came searching here for.

She threw her pack over her shoulders and began her walk, wrapping her scarf tightly across her neck to keep her face warm. Her boots crunched on the partially frozen ground as she began walking across them, wondering how her life's path guided her to this direction, how everything had gone so horribly wrong and how, even her worst dreams, never put her here. But it was the only thing to do, the only way to fix everything that had been broken in her life.

Her wondering thoughts were sidetracked as she noticed something from the corner of

her eye. Emmeline paused and crouched down. A blue poppy was still alive in the frozen grounds. She reached her gloved hand out and plucked it, her thoughts wondering to Jonathan. A tear slid down her cheek and she shut her eyes, standing up, placing one hand over her abdomen as she continued on.

Her pregnancy was hardly noticeable yet. It would be some time before she started showing and part of her wondered if this trip would be too much for her to handle, but the majority argued that Jonathan – wherever he was – wouldn't let anything harmful come to her or his child. Despite her overwhelming grief for her lost husband, he was finally free of the curse Bruce had bestowed upon him in his return. And, as she climbed the mountain, past the villages to the top, where Ra's Al Ghul was awaiting her, she would have her revenge. Jonathan's death would be avenged in the greatest of ways that he had taught her. It was already planned in her wondering thoughts.

**THE END**


	32. Dark Thoughts

**PRELUDE**

The moonlight glistened off the lake, reflecting its brilliant radiance calmly in the ripples of the dark water. The sounds of traffic could be heard in the distance, but it remained tranquil and serene in this place off the beaten path where the trees grew rich and lush and the grass was forever green even in the darkness. It was a place of peace, a place of relaxation, where a care in the world couldn't find you and all problems were forgotten.

She brushed a dark strand of hair from her face. The moonlight caught the diamonds on the band of her left hand, causing them to sparkle brighter than the stars. But her eyes…her eyes no longer sparkled like the emeralds they used to be. All hope inside her was dead. All peace destroyed by the anger inside. There weren't enough trees or stars in the sky to rid her of her pain. Not even in the place that had once sparked a love in her that would have caused her to go to the ends of the earth and hell itself…which she had done…but her love was still lost and long since gone.

Her hand fell back to the earth, trailing over the grass gently as if touching a lover's skin. That much was true in a sense; her lover was buried just beneath the grass her fingers combed through. She had buried him there more than two years ago. After he had been killed, murdered by Batman…by Bruce Wayne. He had once been her friend, years before he disappeared. When he came back so much had changed. She had been married to the love of her life and Rachel Dawes was the new D.A. and Bruce was a rich and pompous prick. Things just derailed from there. It wasn't until the most sinister of nights that she lost everything in the world she held so dear.

She remembered it clearly, often saw it play in her dreams. She fell from the railing after Batman had thrown her over the side…she looked up to see her husband rushing for the stairs to her aid, saw the dark knight throw the metal blade at him in his mistaken foresight, saw it sink into his torso as he fell to his knees in shock. She could still feel the rawness in her throat from the scream that had erupted from her, like a scar that didn't heal correctly. His blood had seeped through her clothes as she held him and when she had searched for Batman to get the help she needed to save him – he was gone, vanished into the night without so much as an apology or word of grievance. He left her there to hold her dying husband. Nothing she could do or say could fix him, could save his life and spare him from the reaper that so eagerly wanted to peel him from her – to take him away from her when she had just gotten him back after a night of searching through the fogged city. She watched him breathe his last, watched the light fade from his pure blue eyes…watched her whole world give way to the nothingness left inside. She had died that night with him, a large part of her at least. Part of her went on to finish what needed to be done.

And so she had buried him at this very spot, where their love had started and, in a cruel way ended. She had left Gotham, journeyed to the ends of the earth and over snow capped mountains to find the place she was looking for, the one man that could help her achieve her means. He was waiting for her there, welcoming her as he said he would. He trained and mentored her into the perfect balance she needed to be ready for. She was now – ready. It was why she had come back. She had unfinished business to attend to. She had sorted through her wondering thoughts on that mountain in her training and had come to the perfect conclusion, the perfect plan.

The baby fidgeted in her arms, cooing slightly in his sleep. His pink full lips opened in a yawn and he blinked his beautiful blue eyes up at her. Her heart warmed at the sight. Her love had not ended entirely, part of him was still alive, eyes drifting back to sleep in her arms. He was what she had left, and she'd never let anyone rip him away from her the way his father had been torn from both of them, leaving a vacant emptiness where he should be. But she planned on reciprocating that pain onto Bruce Wayne, hurting him where no form of medicine could ever take away the pain, where the guilt and memory would tear him apart and she could revel in his sorrow.

Emmeline Crane leaned back against the tree with a cruel smile, eyes fixed deviantly on the water. Her plan would work, her revenge would be sought on to those who had betrayed her, leaving her to the darkness she had found so lovingly embraced. They would come to find she was no longer the sweet and caring young woman she had been, least not to them. She was a twisted version, formed from the pain, sorrow and anger that had reshaped in her being. The old Emmeline had died that night with Jonathan, giving birth to the reformed iniquity that she was. She held her son close to her, other hand still trailing the grass as she hummed to herself and her son, smiling still at her dark wondering thoughts.

I thought I'd write a prelude to this to see what it could possibly lead to. I'm not entirely sure if I'll go along with it or let your imaginations carry you to what she could possibly be capable of. I've been writing more on HP fics for my friend that I don't post but I saw this was still getting hits...So I wrote it as a teasing treat. Hope you enjoyed. Maybe there will be more to come.

Beezer


End file.
